She Wolf
by wiltt003
Summary: Bella Swan, one of two identical twins, is a werewolf. The alpha of the Phoenix pack to be exact, so in order to devote herself to her role, she decided that dating was out of the question. The pack comes first. Things get a little trickier when she falls head over heels for Jacob Black. Sadly, everything in Bella's life is always more complicated that it seems. JXB. OOC. M rated.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so any description of characters will NOT be based on those in the books, only the ones in the films, except Bella, she is all in all a completely different character, but I guess that you'll figure that out by reading this then won't you!**

**Sorry, one last thing, this is VERY IMPORTANT by the way, so… in this, Bella doesn't have the whole mind shield thing going on, but she can if she so chooses, shield/block her mind from the wolf pack and at times, Edward, but she doesn't know about Edward's "gift" so doesn't know to use hers.**

**Any alpha orders in wolf form will be bold and in italics (that's how the wolves will be talking anyway, but I'll put a thing like 'I order' or something to make it clear), and any in human form with just be in italics, cool?**

**Last time when I said 'one last thing', well I lied, this is the last thing… I will inevitably be making some characters up, so if you don't recognise the characters then it's by no fault of your own.**

**~*Chapter 1*~**

**Bella*~**

Okay, so today's my first day at my new school.

I've been here for two months now, but dad didn't want to send me to school for the last two weeks before the end of the year, so I stayed at home and studied, or I went out for a run.

I'm in my beat-up old pickup that Charlie got from Billy. I've decided that I like Billy, he's nice. I didn't really get chance to talk to him much though, you see, I'm not really a social person, so I told Charlie that I'd cook for him, I got straight to it so I wasn't dragged into any unwanted conversation.

Billy mentioned that he's got a son called Jacob, I think I remember him, I'm pretty sure that we made mud pies together, but who knows.

I'm not sure whether to be excited this morning or not.

Well, I'm excited about attending a new school, learning new things. Know what I'm not looking forward to? People, that's right, new people.

I had friends, good ones, they were my pack. We were tight, but then I left, so now here I am, friendless, no pack, no job, just me and my dad, Charlie.

We were a seven wolf pack, it consisted of the alpha, me, the rest of my pack didn't really have much of an order, but when we're hunting vamps, my next in command would be Kyla, she's small, but she can sure as hell run, and she bites like a rottweiler! Just doesn't let go!

You've got Skylar, she's a mean bitch, but she gets the job done. She's never tried anything stupid, but I think it's only a matter of time before she snaps and tries to hurt someone. Skylar is Kyla's big sister, she's eighteen so the oldest of us all. She understands how the pack works, and sticks to the rules, I'm the closest thing that she's got to a friend, so we're cool, but she barely speak to the others.

Then there's Marcus at seventeen, he's big and strong, but he's a dumb fighter, slow too. He's a big softie though, like a massive cuddly wolf. I know for a fact that without the rest of us he'd be dead by now, but he would happily give his own life to save any one of us, even Skylar, or "the big ol' bitch" as he calls her.

Ashley, she's only fifteen, but so damn sweet, she only phased a month ago, she hasn't figured out how to phase back yet so we've had to tell her mother everything. She's a tiny grey wolf with a light brown patch covering her right eye.

Next there's River, she and the final wolf, Matthias, have imprinted on one another. She's only fifteen and he's seventeen, but they've been best friends since she was four, and he's only ever had eyes for her. She's always had this mad crush on him.

I've been phasing for just over three and a half years, I was alone for six months until Skylar just happened to burst into her wolf form in the middle of a row with her mom. Things were normal again for a while, but when a vamp came through town, Marcus phased, then Kyla phased, that was only two years ago, the others followed about seven months ago, aside from Ashley, who only phased last month.

Matthias, how do I describe him? Well, to start, he's a psychological mute, in his human form he speaks to the pack, and us only, he speaks freely with us all alone, but in public even River can't get a word out of him. The two of them know sign language -she's taught us all the basics too- really well, so when he has something to say he'll sign it to her and she'll say it verbally. In school River's been sent up to his year -she's insanely smart- so that he didn't have to go to a special school.

When he's phased, his thoughts are all contained and controlled. He and River live together, have done since he was ten, they're both foster kids -their newest parents know about them phasing and have actually coped really well- can't foster one without the other, I'm pretty sure that this pair will adopt them though. They're the perfect team when it comes to combat, she's small, agile and sharp, whereas, Matthias, he's enormous, strong, and a genius.

Back to the present though.

I pull into the school parking lot, I can already feel all of the eyes locked on the truck of the new kid. Parking my truck proves slightly more difficult than you'd think, it's as if everyone sees the new car and starts to speed into spaces.

The only space left is next to a brand new silver Jeep, damned rich kids. The Jeep's beautiful, but over the top… and it stinks!

I quickly turn off the engine before taking a quick look all the way around the parking lot. Unlike most, all of the eyes on me don't make me nervous, only more confident, if they want to give me a good old stare, then they can.

I'm not who I used to be, I'm not my old five foot four, oh no, I'm five eight now, I'm not that weedy, little, white girl either, since phasing I've tanned a lot, I've got the same skin tone as most of the Quileute's now. Another thing, I'm so not that skinny bitch either, nope, I put on almost two stone of muscle and a thin layer of body fat. Not so much muscle that I could be a man, but enough that you can tell I'm not a stick insect.

Thankfully, it's summer, I hate winter because everyone has to put loads of layers on, but the phasing makes me naturally warm, so I overheat and it's horrible. So, today, like most of the kids, I'm wearing thin pants and a t-shirt. It's not sunny, but it's warm.

My pants are turquoise jeans, and my t-shirt is a dark green. I've got bright red converse sneakers on and a baseball cap in the same colour that says 'Phoenix Baseball' on the rim.

I let my fringe fall across my face, it hides some of my smaller scars that I've gathered over the years. Although I only have four above my shoulders, I still don't like showing them. I've got one on the bridge of my nose, one that runs from the right of my nose, over my lips, to the top of my chin, one on my left eyebrow, and finally, one on the left side of my lower lip that trails to the top of my chin.

I take my cap off and slip it into my bag before hopping out of the truck.

Once out of my truck I lock its doors and head towards the main building, since Charlie's chief of police he got all my school stuff mailed to the house, I spent the past could of days studying the map and my schedule.

Thankfully the school is only one floor high, so I find my home room pretty quickly.

I take the only free seat in the whole room, it's at the back, next to a window, thank god for windows!

Take it how you will, but something smells off. Sweet, too sweet, and death, those two scents linger in the air. Vampire, I know that much, but there are so many people about, why hasn't it attacked yet?

What's it waiting for?

Does it know I'm here?

Can it smell me?

If it knows that I'm here, then does it know that I know it's here?

Is it planning on attacking?

How can I protect any of these people without revealing what I am?

Does it even know that my kind exist?

How old is it?

Who is it?

Where is it?

Is it in this room?

Why is everyone staring at me? "Miss Swan, I asked if you'd like to introduce yourself." the teacher says impatiently. What a great start to my school life.

"Oh, uh yeah, sure." I say, and before I can start he's speaking again.

"Ah, well, thank you, how great of you to grace us with basic information such as your name, I'm sure that everybody else feels just as privileged as I do." he says sarcastically.

He gets a few laughs from the class, he's trying to intimidate me, and it's not working. "Well, you'll be glad to know that I'm here all week." I reply with a smile.

"How positively thrilling!" he replies.

I nod slowly. "Yeah, I know right." I say sarcastically. "I just can't wait to come to school to your face everyday." I add with a very obviously fake smile.

The teacher huffs out an annoyed breath before speaking. "Get on with it." he says though gritted teeth.

I nod with a smirk on my face. "So, yeah, I'm Bella Swan, moved here from Phoenix, not much else to say." now let me just say, thank god for phasing! I'd never speak to anyone like that before I phased! I would have been all like 'Bella Swan, Sir.' then hidden my face behind a curtain of my hair.

The teacher looks away, defeated. "Okay everyone, Bella's an A star student, you can now see that the Cullen's and Angela aren't the only clever people in our school, so study, and be like them!" he snaps, I can just tell that he's gonna be a bundle of fun! "She also holds practically every sports record going back in Phoenix, you know, that place that beats us at everything. Model student apparently, hope she lives up to her title." oh trust me, I do.

The bell rings three times, time for class. Oh the joy!

I'm one of the last out of the class room, I've got sport first, then math, then science, then a double of art, not the best lessons for my first day, but certainly not the worst.

On my way to the sports hall I manage to let my mind drift a little to what I'd be doing right now back in Phoenix, well, I'd be in Spanish, my worst subject that I thankfully was able to drop when I got here. I'd be sitting on a massive table with Matt and River, sometimes Marcus, I miss my old- THUMP!

Ah shit! I walked into someone!

I pretend to stumble and drop by bag as a human would do, I look at the person that I walked into, she's small, Asian looking, and kind of frightened. She also happens to be sitting on the floor a few foot away from me. I grab my bag, sling it over my shoulder and walk to her with an apologetic look on my face. "Hi, sorry about that, I was just trying to remember how to get to my class, in a world of my own! I'm new here." I say as I hold my hand out.

She takes it and allows me to help her up, the frightened look falls from her face, "Don't worry about it, do you need help getting anywhere? I could point you in the right direction if you'd like." she offers kindly.

Nope, I memorised the map the day I got it, trust me, I know my way around better than most of you pale faces. "Uh, yeah, thanks." I say. "I'm looking for the sports hall."

"Oh, you have sport? Me too! Just follow me." she says happily. "I'm Angela by the way, Angela Weber." ah, the A star student. "I guess you must be Isabella Swan, right?"

"Yeah, just Bella though, and thanks." I reply, I hate it when people call me Isabella, it makes me feel old.

She nods happily before turning and walking. I follow her until we reach the changing rooms.

She slips inside without a word, whereas the big butch coach who looks as if she could be five different women all hugging, pulls me aside. "Isabella?" she asks me.

"Yeah, Bella." I say. Her voice makes even me want to run for the hills.

It nods. "I'm coach Small." Wow, the irony, "Hear you got quite nice stamina, run for a long while?" I want to scream.

I nod and try to hide my disgust as it moves closer to me. "Okay, we're on the track, we're running with the boys, you up for it?" when she says 'we're running with the boys' I hope for her own sake that she's not running.

"Yeah, sure, I'm gonna go get changed." I say, before it can protest I slip inside the changing rooms.

Now here's my question, why do the girls who think they're oh so sexy, walk around in their underwear in the changing rooms? Are they all secret lesbians?

I throw my bag on a peg in the corner of the room away from everyone else, I want as few people as possible to see my scars. Since I'm a wolf, they don't show as badly as they would on humans, but they still stand pink and obvious around my body.

Quickly, not too quickly though, I rid myself of my clothes.

Standing in my underwear is awkward, I can feel the eyes of the girls who have already changed on me, their eyes scorching trails along each of my scars, I can hear every word whispered in the room, like:

"Jeez, look at that!"

"Wish I had a body like that!"

"Why are you staring at her? Are you a lesbian!?"

"Have you seen the new girl yet?"

"I think she seems okay."

"How'd she get those?"

"Don't know."

"Have you seen those scars?"

I'm quick to pull my shorts and t-shirt on, they're too short for my liking, even if I do have the best figure in here, I'm still uncomfortable showing my legs. I shove my sneakers on my feet and sit down on the bench that's under the pegs.

"Hey, Bella!" comes a familiar voice, I look up to see Angela and another girl walking over to me.

"Hi, Angela!" I say back, I try to be enthusiastic. She smiles, she's happy that I remembered her name I think.

"Oh! This is Jess by the way." she says excitedly.

The girl -Jess- waves a little with a tight-lipped smile. "Hi." she says. I can tell by the way she's looking at me that she's checking if I'm competition. I'm not, unless I imprint on her boyfriend.

"Hi," I say back. "I'm Bella, I moved here from Phoenix."

"Yeah, I'm in your homeroom, with Mr. Jackson." she says, a small smile getting larger, most likely remembering me spacing out not ten minutes ago. I nod with a small smile of my own.

The three of us make idle chitchat for a while until the beast of a woman that is coach Small waddles into the room. "Alright ladies, I'm sure you've all noticed our new student today, her name is Bella and she holds practically every single record at her old school-" thanks for pointing that out! "-and we're moving on to track today, running, and we're running with the guys." a chorus of annoyed groans and pleased hums fill the changing rooms.

"It's not a competition, we're all just gonna have a nice jog around the track, but if anyone feels the need for a race, then come to me and it will be arranged, now go! Get on out there!" the beast yells almost excitedly.

The three of us -along with the rest of the room- stand and shuffle awkwardly out of the changing room. The two of them both tell me that I should stick with them, then hastily rushing out the whole 'ONLY-IF-YOU-WANT-TO!' thing. Since I don't know anyone else, and these guys seem nice, I agree that I'll stay with them.

The rest of the sports lesson passes rather quickly, two of the girls challenge me to race, I beat both of them easily without being short of breath while they heap on the floor gasping like dying fish. I meet two of the guys that hang around with Jess and Angela, they're called Mike and Eric, they're really nice guys, a little forward and too jolly almost, but lovely none the less.

"Where you off to now then, Phoenix?" Mike asks me once everyone's changed and out of the changing rooms.

I pretend to think about it for a minute "Math I think." trust me, it's math, I know it is, and I know where my room is.

"Oh! Jess and Eric have math, you could go with them!" he announces happily.

Oh the joy! "Yeah, that would be awesome actually." I say with a fake hopeful voice. I'm trying not to tense up or shake as we walk, I can smell the vamp again and the wolf's just itching to get out.

Just imagine that, a five foot eight pure white wolf standing in the middle of a school sniffing everyone then finally killing someone, it sounds crazy!

Math is just the same as Sport and Home room, the teacher introduces me, says how well I'm doing with my grades, then the class begins.

I finish the whole lessons work in fifteen minutes work, then practically do Jess' and Eric's too, the three of us claim that I was only helping, but we all know that I just told them what to write down.

Half way through the lesson I start shaking, almost uncontrollably, I can smell it, vamp. Really bad.

It's getting worse, closer.

I clamp my hand over my mouth and make it look like I'm leaning against it on the desk. I block my nose and try breathing through my mouth. Jeez! It's like I can taste them on the air now!

As horrible as it is, I take deep breaths, at least this way I don't have to breathe as often.

"Hey, uh, are you okay?" Jess asks me, she and Eric seem to be getting a little worried about my shaking and laboured breathing. Before I could snarl something out it got worse, I mean like seriously worse.

I look up, "Fine." I say in a tone as even as I can manage.

The classroom door opens, I watch as the two most beautiful people that I have ever seen in my life enter the room.

The first, the female, she's got short hair, she's fairly short herself, and she walk with an elegance that would take many years to perfect. She looks like a pixie, fresh out of a kids story book. You can tell by her clothes that she's certainly not poor, if anything, she's got to be rich.

The second one, them male, he's got short reddish-brown hair, he's probably just a few inches taller than me, maybe five ten, maybe five eleven? He also possesses the same elegance and grace about his person. He too seems a lot wealthier than the average teen.

I can tell straight off that they're the vamps I can smell, but there's something that confuses me a little: their self control and their eyes. The two of them have murky yellow eyes, but their self control, it's admirable, I mean for vamps anyway.

I see the male hand a note to the teacher, he reads it then says "Alright, we've got a new student so we're one seat less than usual, the only spaces are over with Jessica, Eric and said new student, her name's Isabella, her test scores are a few points below your own-" I swear he can't tell people this stuff! "-so if you need to know what we've been doing then just ask her."

"Yes sir!" the little pixie says, her voice makes me feel sick.

Wait! They're sitting next to me!?

The two walk over, the class seems to admire them.

As they set their stuff on the desk, I notice that since I stopped helping Jess and Eric, the only seats are either side of me. Shit!

The two tense as they really notice me.

Is this where it all kicks off?

Will I really phase right here?

Could I take two on my own?

How old are they?

Do they get stronger with age?

"So, Isabella, you're new here, correct?" the pixie asks me.

Can she seriously not smell me from right there?

I release a shaky breath before talking, "New." I confirm. "And, it's just Bella." I add on.

I swear I can feel the claws of the wolf pushing at my skin.

"Well, Bella, it's nice to meet you." she says, I can tell that her smile is fake, and despite them both looking calm to the naked eye, that they're actually tensing every single muscle in their cold dead bodies. "I'm Alice, Alice Cullen, and this is my brother, Edward Cullen."

I nod, an amused smirk dances across my face, of course these would be the family with the high test scores, they've been learning the same stuff for a long while.

"Do you have any siblings?" the brother, Edward, asks me.

Should I reply truthfully or not? Go for it. "Yeah, one sister, we're twins, but she didn't want to move here." damn, the truth came out.

My sister, Jenna, how do I describe her? Well, to start off, she's basically what I'd look like if I never phased, she's skinny, she's short, she's pale, she's quiet, and quite frankly, she's boring to be around.

"Oh, what sort of twins are you?" Pixie/Alice asks.

"Monozygotic, but we're not so similar anymore." I reply. "I grew, she didn't, I tanned, she didn't, I put some weight on, she's like a stick." I shrug.

Why's it becoming easier to talk to them?

Who cares, I'm planning on killing them anyway, so why not get to know some stuff about them first?

"How about you guys, is it just the two of you?" I ask as politely as I can.

Edward's face changes, if only for a second, it's as if he's figured me out, that I'm planning his death. "No, not just the two of us, I guess we outnumber you in that aspect." he says with a small half smirk. He's beautiful, he really is.

That's how they operate, they use their looks to attract their pray, then they kill it.

But he said 'outnumber' didn't he?

Funny choice of words, unless he's cottoned on.

"We're a family of seven all together, Alice and I, our brothers Jasper and Emmett, our sister Rosalie, then finally our parents, Carlisle and Esme." Edward says, his smirk is that of a knowing man. He knows that I couldn't take on seven vampires on my own, and I'd never risk my pack mates lives by calling them to come and kill a family, I'll have to try and strike up a deal.

"Bella," Alice says. I look over to her, still breathing slowly. "you know Billy Black, right?"

"Yeah." I state simply.

"Well, his entire family and our family are having a bonfire later, we'd love it if you came?"

Yeah, so you can ambush and kill me and the Blacks! But, as a spirit warrior, it's my job to protect my own, and that now includes the population of Forks. "Wow, that's really nice of you, um, well, if I'm not imposing then I'd love to come." I tell her with a fake smile.

"Fabulous, your father has to come too!" she chirps.

If this bitch thinks she's getting Charlie then she's got another thing coming!

"Just be at first beach for half past six." Edward says with a smirk still gracing his features.

I'm still shaking like a leaf, and the smell's getting worse.

"Hey, uh, Bella?" Jess says.

I hadn't realised but I'd closed my eyes and started rubbing my eye sockets furiously with the heal of my hands.

"You okay?" she asks me.

I nod slowly. "I, uh, yeah." I reply. "It's just hay fever, actually, I'm feeling kind of sick." and it's the truth.

My brain starts working a mile a minute, if I leave now then they could massacre the whole school, but if I don't then I could phase right here.

"Sir!" Jess yells.

I note that he replies.

"I think Bella's gonna hurl!" she screeches.

He tells me that I can leave if I want, I don't take a second breath before shoving my chair out, grabbing my stuff and all but sprinting from the classroom.

Red dots start to dance across my vision.

I'm not sure how long it takes, or even who I talk to, but I know that I'm dismissed as I find myself shaking violently in my truck.

"Fuck!" I yell at the top of my lungs as my shaking hand drops the keys for my truck before I can turn on the engine.

I snatch the key from the floor and practically shove it into the ignition.

Ten minutes later I'm still in my truck, but I'm on roads. I pull my cell from my pocket and scroll down my address book until I find 'Dad', I click dial and turn it onto the speaker whilst setting it on the seat beside me.

"Hey, Bells, you okay?" he asks me, his voice urgent and truly fatherly.

I smile a little despite my need to phase. "Yeah, I just don't feel to good, I'm gonna get some fresh air, I'll be back in school after lunch I think, unless I get worse." I say trying to calm him a little.

I can practically sense him nodding and huffing into the receiver. "Okay, just don't go far, and be back home for five, sound good?"

"Sure, thanks, dad, I'm just a little off today."

"Alright, Bells, I gotta go, police stuff, see you at home." he says, his voice is a little suspicious.

"Uh-huh, bye." I say.

I click the end call button and stop the truck.

After a minute of searching through my cell I find the contact I'm looking for, it's labelled 'Pack' I know, obvious, but I'm not all that creative.

I prank the line a few times to let everyone know it's an emergency before hopping out of my truck and running to the woods just beside the road.

Thankfully these woods are pretty deep, so I run/sprint about a mile in before I find a fairly clean rock, I strip my clothes and lay them out across the rock before phasing.

"_**Hello?" **_comes a voice that I know o be Ashley's. _**"Anyone there?"**_

"_**Yeah, hey Ash, it's Bella."**_

"_**Bella!" **_she yelps happily.

I note that she's mentally smiling and that she's wagging her tail. _**"Hey, listen, are you close to any of the others?"**_

"_**No, why?"**_

"_**Well, it's just that-"**_

"_**Bam!"**_ River. _**"How's it going my bitches?"**_ River says slightly jolly.

In the back of her mind I can tell that she's pleased that she and Matt are out of school. I also see her watching as Matt takes his clothes off.

"_**You're fifteen!"**_ I snap.

She just scoffs and turns away so we can't see. Thank god!

"_**So, what's the shit?"**_ she asks once Matt's phased.

"_**Vamps."**_ I say quickly._** "A whole family, seven to be precise."**_

"_**Are they an immediate threat?"**_ Matt asks. His brow mentally furrowing.

"_**I'm not sure, I had to run before I phased."**_

"_**Do you need us?"**_ River asks me, suddenly serious. _**"It'd only take us five hours to get to you."**_

"_**I don't know, I couldn't ask you guys to come and risk your lives like that, but there were legends of Quileute wolves, maybe I could find some, get some back up."**_

"_**Bull shit!" **_well, I guess Skylar's here now. _**"I don't care what your pussy asses are thinking, we're going to go to Forks and save that damn place!"**_

"_**Sky-"**_

"_**No, Bella! Don't 'Skylar' me, you've got a vamp problem already, we're coming to help, we'll pack my dad's family tent up and we'll come find you."**_

I mentally huff, she can be so damn stubborn!

"_**Fine, but we're doing it my way!"**_ I snap harshly in my alpha voice.

I wait for the rest of the pack to phase in before carrying on.

"_**Okay, tonight there's a bonfire, I've been invited by one of the vamps, they think that they can ambush a family friend, he's chief of the Quileute tribe, his bloodline has the wolf gene strongly running through it, his whole family will be there, this could be the best shot for the vamps to kill out that bloodline, extinguish the threat."**_

"_**So we do what? Come uninvited to a party and wait for something to happen?"**_ Marcus asks me.

"_**No, if you guys do come here, then you'll be in the woods, close by, but not in plain sight. At the first sign of danger I'll phase, then you guys follow my lead and we end the leeches, I'll try to keep the humans away from them as much as possible."**_ I reply.

I notice that only River and Matt are actually in the same place, they're about a mile into some woodland, Skylar's outside her house, Marcus is in a warehouse, Kyla's also in a warehouse, and Ashley's in the same woods that she's been in in for the past month.

"Shit!" I hear someone yell.

I spin snarling only to realise that is was Skylar and Kyla's father, in the pack mind it felt like he was right next to me.

I stop snarling and smile as Skylar guffaws at her shocked father.

"Damn it, Sky!" he snaps. "You scared the life out of me!"

She sits down and wait for him to calm. "You going off?" she nods. "Kyla too?" again she nods. "Need the camping stuff?" and yet again, she nods.

He walks off into his garage and pulls out two enormous duffle bags, one with two family sized tents in it, the other full of food and clothes. We've all got the same things at our houses, although I had to leave my stuff with my mom.

"I'll call everyone's parents and tell them you'll all be gone, but for how long?" he asks.

Skylar barks a few times, I didn't count, but he did.

She and her dad are incredible, Kyla too, they know Morse code, and they use it to talk to their dad in wolf form, it's incredible to watch. "Two weeks!" he says in amazement.

"_**Skylar, we won't be that long."**_ I tell her.

She just snorts before nodding to her father.

"Alright, well, off you go then." he says. He gives her a short wave before disappearing into the house.

Skylar takes the bags by their handles in her maw and sets off sprinting.

"_**See you in five hours, B."**_ she says.

I watch as she runs past every member of the pack, and as each one joins her until six wolves are sprinting at three hundred miles per hour through forests and leaping across empty roads.

Great, my first day at school and I'm planning on killing five students! Just fucking incredible!

**So, chapter one, how'd I do?**

**Just hang on in there for chapter two, and don't worry, Jacob's in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, so I'm not sure if I was very clear in the first chapter, but basically, Bella's a wolf, she has six other wolves in her pack, she's got a twin sister called Jenna (she's basically Bella from the books), BOTH her parents know that she's a wolf.**

**Also, she's contacted her pack who are set on killing the Cullen's at the bonfire that Bella has been invited to.**

**One last thing… anything that Matt or anyone else signs (sign language, not signature) will be in bold, it'll be made obvious that it's sign language though, so don't worry about looking for it.**

**~*Chapter 2*~**

**Bella*~**

I've got two hours before my pack gets here, I slept under a tree for the last three but woke with a start as Kyla fell over, the laughter and loud cursing through the pack mind was enough to wake me.

I happen to notice everyone's legs getting quicker and quicker, they're probably at about three twenty-five now, maybe three fifty. If they keep the pace up then they'll be with me in about an hour and a half.

Every so often I force thoughts of the vamps from my class out, and the stink all over the Jeep.

"_**What's up with their eyes?"**_ Ashley asks me.

"_**Honestly, I haven't got a clue, maybe it comes with age, I guess it could be contacts?"**_ I tell her.

The seven of us discuss it for a while until they're only an hour away.

"_**Why would they go to a bonfire?"**_ Matt asks. _**"I mean, given how flammable they are, it's not exactly in their best interest."**_

"_**Maybe they're overly confident?" **_Kyla says.

"_**Who gives a shit? We'll burn them at their own party!"**_ Skylar yells happily. The others howl in response, I give my own yip too, but not too loud, especially since it's hunting season.

"_**Guys, I'm gonna phase out and grab a few lighters, just in case."**_

"_**Alright, Bells."**_

"_**If I'm not phased by the time you get here just do a pack howl."**_

"_**Will do."**_ they say in unison.

And with a communal 'bye' from the pack I phase.

Standing butt ass naked in a forest, you think you'd get used to it, but no.

I grab my clothes and quickly yank them on before hopping into my truck.

After breaking every speed limit and running every single red light and stop sign, I make it home in five minutes.

Okay, think, what do you need?

Lighters… under pillow? Yep.

Check!

Oh, well I honestly thought that I'd need more than that.

Okay, so I've got my lighters, I've got clothes on, but is this what you'd wear to a bonfire? Nope, probably not.

I jog up my stairs and into my purple bedroom that still has bunk beds in it, and open my wardrobe.

What to wear.

I could wear some cute little- _Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!_

My cell, I think it's a text. I grab it from on my bed and slide my finger across the screen where it says "Slide to unlock" and then enter my six digit pass code, it's my birthday because I'm not too creative.

I open my folder named "Ways to contact the outside world!" I know, odd, but Jenna did it, she says I don't get out enough when I'm not on patrol, I tell her to pull her nose out of her ass and get outside, then I'll go out more.

One message, wonder who it's from?

It's an unknown number, but is reads:

"_Isabella,_

_I understand that our presence may have somewhat been the cause for your early departure today, and for that I am sorry. I do not mean to make you uncomfortable and will try to prove so tonight at the bonfire._

_You must understand that you intrigue me, my family too._

_Why not invite your friends to the bonfire? If it shall set you at ease then I would much rather they be there, and I pray that you change your mind about trying to harm my family, we pose no threat to either you or the population of Forks._

_All shall be explained later,_

_Until then,_

_E."_

What the actual fuck?

How does he know about the pack?

Who gave him my number?

How can he not pose a threat?

Does Billy know what he is?

Wait, if he knows about the pack could they be in danger?

Instead of mulling things through in my head I yank my window open and leap from it.

When I land a small dose of pain shoots up my left ankle, I ignore it though as I sprint to the woods, I'm sure that I look crazy, but I don't care.

The second that I'm sure I'm out of sight I all but tare my clothes off and phase mid-step with my clothes in my mouth.

"_**Guys!?"**_ I yell frightened.

Nothing!

Where are they?

"_**Bells?"**_

"_**Skylar! I've never been so happy to hear your voice in my life!"**_

I release a shaky breath and flop to the floor with a giddy smile. _**"I thought that they'd got you guys!"**_

"_**Who?"**_

"_**The vamps, one of them just text messaged me, he knows about you all."**_

"_**How?"**_

"_**Not a clue, but looks like you're coming to the bonfire with me."**_

"_**Ugh! I hate parties!"**_

"_**Parties!"**_ Marcus yells happily and jumps on all fours.

"_**Joy."**_ Both River and Matt say in time, their voices seeping with sarcasm.

"_**Don't be a kill joy, Sky!"**_ Kyla yaps and nips at her sisters flank.

Ashley's mind gets slightly embarrassed, _**"So, uh, should I just wait in the woods, or-"**_

"_**Would you let me try something?"**_ I interrupt her.

"_**Yeah, of course."**_

"_**Good, I'll come find you guys, I think I'm starting to hear you."**_ I say, I strain my ears as much as I can before standing up from where I lay down. Yep, I can hear a faint thumping on the ground.

My paws smack against the muddy earth until I reach my pack, it takes literally two minutes.

Skylar sets the bags down and pulls some clothes from it.

"_**Guys, phase back, I want to talk to Ash." **_it's not a command, but they all do as I say and phase back. They're all a lot cooler about the whole 'being naked in front of others' than I am. It's not like I make a big deal out of it or anything, I'm just not all that happy about it.

"_**So, Ash, this might be kind of uncomfortable if it doesn't work, but if it does, then way hey."**_

"_**Um, okay?"**_

"_**Don't worry, if it doesn't work then it'll be okay."**_ I assure her as softly as I can.

Skylar's holding some clothes ready for Ash, for when she's ready.

"_**Ash, this is a direct order from your alpha, you **_**will**_** phase back to your human form, **_**now**_**!"**_ well, I seriously hope that it's that easy.

Her legs give out under her and her maw touches the floor as she tries her hardest to obey the command.

She lets out a few pained grunts before releasing a single shaky breath, backing into a tree and suddenly, standing as a very shy, naked human. "Thanks." she mutters as she takes the clothes from Skylar.

I never knew before, but she's blond with startlingly green eyes, and surprisingly, she's got pale skin.

While everyone's taking a look at her as a human, I phase back and yank my own clothes on behind a tree stump.

"How you feeling?" I ask Ash as I return from behind the tree stump.

She gives me a small smile, her cheeks still red. "Fine, a little vulnerable." she says. "And I hurt a little."

I nod and quickly try and get the attention of the rest of the pack. "Listen up, _none of you are to phase at all, until I myself do_, got it?" they all hiss in sharp breaths at the command and wince at the discomfort but still manage to answer with a communal 'yeah'.

"Good, now lets go." I say as I clap my hands together. "None of us look exactly party worthy, who's up for shopping?"

All of the girls aside from River perk up immediately at the idea of shopping, Matt and Marcus seem comfortable enough in their shorts.

"It's not hot enough to not be wearing a shirt, sorry guys." I tell the two with a shrug.

Matt grumbles something about 'fucking body heat' while Marcus just looks a little down and says "Oh, okay then." he's so damn adorable sometimes!

They follow me to my house, I reach for the door and push on the handle, nothing.

"Shit!" I mutter.

I turn to them all, not embarrassed, but annoyed. "I left my keys inside, you see, I came out of the window, so, uh, one min." I use the tree outside my window to climb up to the right level before hopping across.

Once inside I grab my keys from my bed beside my cell, and I jump down all of the stairs.

After I've let everyone in I grab some cash and my cell and keys.

"Anyone got the time?" I ask them all.

Ash looks at her wrist them blushes embarrassed as she realises that she doesn't have a watch anymore.

"Three forty-seven." Matt says, he pulls Ash's watch from his pocket and hands it to her with a smile.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaims happily before attaching it to her wrist. She'll just lose it again next time she phases.

"Okay, so school's over, there'll be school kids everywhere, but we can take my truck into town and grab some stuff, lunch is on me." I say.

I get in the truck and wait a few minutes as the others decide who's riding in the front with me and who's sitting in the cab. In the end it's Ash that joins me.

"How'd you like it here?" she asks me as I pull out of my drive.

"Not sure really, I mean it's nice and all, but I was kind of expecting to get away from vamps a little, not run into a whole bunch of 'em. You know?"

"Yeah, but once they're gone do you think you'll settle properly?"

"Might do, but I'll always be missing you guys." I say as I bump my shoulder against hers. She smiles up at me.

We go in silence for a little while before I notice that the guys in the bed of the truck are practically asleep.

"Hey, Ash, you wanna see something cool?" I ask her with a mischievous grin.

She nods eagerly. "Yeah!"

"Okay, watch out through the mirrors." I tell her.

Her head turns to the mirrors and I immediately start jerking the steering wheel from side to side.

We're on an empty road so we're not disturbing anyone.

I watch as the guys in the back clay desperately at the metal on the bed before Skylar finally flies over the edge, she's still got both of duffle bags, but Kyla grabs them in an attempt to save her sister, she just ends up with bags.

I carry on swerving until we drive past my new school where some cars are exiting.

The second the truck stops throwing them around the place Marcus topples over the edge.

"Stop your fucking truck, now!" Skylar yells, although she's trying to sound menacing I can see her grinning from ear to ear as she sprints after us. She passes Marcus who's pushing himself off the road, "Come on, numb nuts!" she says as she smacks his shoulder lightly, before pushing herself faster.

She stops.

He stops.

They both just freeze.

The two of them turn, still in the road and start approaching something, I squint to see in my rear view mirror, and I see… a Jeep? And a Volvo?

Shit!

I slam the breaks on the truck and pull onto the curb closest to me.

"Matt!" I snap.

He looks up at me and nods.

"Get Marcus in the truck, now!" I tell him.

He's the most level headed, he can walk away from the stink.

River makes to go with him, he pushes her back down and shakes his head seriously.

"Ash," I say as I turn back to her.

She's shaking madly. "Ash, listen to me, don't move, okay?"

I watch, horrified, as five figures emerge from the Jeep and Volvo.

I leap from the truck and jog over to Marcus and Skylar.

"River!" I yell as I'm running. "Drive about a mile forwards until you see some woods, get everyone in there!" I know it's not an order, but she follows it anyway.

"Bella?" the Pixie says.

I ignore her and grab Skylar by the shoulders. "Come on." I say harshly as I yank at her, but here's the thing, she's a lot stronger than I am. She shoves my arms away and carries on pushing towards the Cullens.

"You know, you're blocking the road." one of the other Cullens says, he looks like a cage fighter. And he's wearing a dumbass grin.

I'm well aware of that, shit-head!

I notice Matt's own shaking, but he makes no move to run, he just stands in front of Marcus and shoves him away. He carries on shoving until Marcus gets the message and jogs off in the other direction.

"Vamp!" Skylar hisses almost inaudibly, but I hear it, and so do the Cullens.

"They're under an order." Edward says, it's as if he's answering a question.

"You think I ordered them to do this!?" I hiss at him.

"No, but you have set a command in place, she keeps thinking of ways to break it." he replies with a shrug.

I huff out an annoyed breath as I realise that she'll win if we keep things up as they are now. "Matt?" I say, his head snaps up to look at me. "Get Kyla, tell her to come and deal with her sister." I tell him.

I watch as he jogs off.

Thankfully, the Cullens are the only cars on the road, and there aren't any people walking this way.

I hate laying orders down, so I won't, I'm gonna do this the old fashioned way… I'm gonna drag her kicking and screaming if I have to.

"Skylar, move it." I tell her. She doesn't even seem to acknowledge my voice. There's only three metres between her and the Cullen's now.

To make it clear that I am to be listened to, I stand right in front of the vamps, they're holding their breath, but one of them looks a little constipated. Like, mega uncomfortable.

"It is my duty." she says, she seems dazed, like all she wants is to kill them.

"Would you like some help?" the Cage-fighter looking one asks me sarcastically.

"He's not being sarcastic, you'd make his day if you said yes." Edward informs me, Jesus, is he a fucking mind reader!

"Skylar, back off!" I hiss at her.

She walks right into me, growling at the Cullen's.

I try to shove her by her shoulders, but she doesn't budge, she just forces me out of the way and kicks me hard enough to send me to my hands and knees.

Cage-fighter cracks his knuckles one by one, he looks excited, and the constipated looking one, well now he just looks excited too.

So I do it, I do the last thing that I ever thought I would do; I protect the vamps.

I phase and tackle Skylar to the ground.

The second her back smacks the concrete she's phased too.

She thrusts her legs into my stomach to throw me off her before lurching at the vamps, only I'm quicker.

She crashes into me with a sickeningly loud thud. I'm forced into the bonnet of the Jeep. "Shit!" Cage-fighter yells. "Not my Jeep!"

Skylar's fangs sink into my right shoulder, and mine into her left flank.

We both yelp in pain, but neither of us stop.

I twist out of her grasp and use my hold on her flank to drag her into some woodland at the side of the road.

"Well that was entertaining!" Cage-fighter says.

My grip on Skylar loosens, only slightly, but that's all she needs, she kicks me square in the face before sprinting back out of the woods.

I wipe my muzzle with my paw before following her.

Something crashes into her as she snaps for the blond girl next to cage fighter, it's grey and small, Kyla. And that ladies and gentlemen is why Kyla is my beta, she does what I tell her to, nothing more, nothing less, she just follows orders to a 'T'.

The two fight it out until I bolt straight for Skylar and knock her to the ground. _**"Stay down!"**_ I order harshly.

She whimpers and lays as close to the ground as she can get.

"_**Get in the woods and run until you're tired, then return to my house and phase!"**_ yet again, I use the 'alpha tone' to make it an order.

With her head low she stands, she walks into the woods and then is sprinting.

"_**Sorry."**_ River says.

"_**Yeah, me too."**_ Ash adds on.

And suddenly my entire pack is apologising to me.

"_**Hang on, I need to phase back, now everyone, if you're not already, in the woods!" **_I order quickly.

Kyla, takes the tattered remains of my clothes in her mouth and darts past me, she looks kind of relieved when she reaches the trees.

"So, we'll be seeing you later?" Alice asks, a hint of concern lacing her voice.

I shrug my shoulders indifferently before turning and sluggishly stomping into the woods.

"_**What the fuck, Skylar!?" **_I bellow into the pack mind.

"_**Me? I'm not the one jumping in to save the vamps, what the fuck was that about!"**_

"_**They're different!"**_

"_**They're vampires!"**_

"_**I know what they are, S-"**_

"_**Exactly! That makes it worse, you know what the are but you still save them!"**_

"_**They could have killed you, Skylar, but they didn't, think about it!"**_ I hiss.

"_**That doesn't make them good!"**_ she screeches back.

"_**No, but it makes them different."**_

"_**Who gives a flying fuck if they're different, that doesn't mean that they're good!"**_

"_**You should be thankful that they didn't retaliate! Now they know exactly what we are, how many of us there are, and that some of my dumbass mutts have no self control!" **_I snarl, I feel the rest of the pack wince at my harsh tone.

"Um, Bella?" the pixie's voice comes from behind me.

I turn to her, still snarling through the pack mind.

"I grabbed your clothes from the back of your truck." she says politely with a small smile. Her brother, Edward, stands next to her with a confused look on his face.

His face quickly changes from confused to a small half-smirk. "I'm not confused, I'm intrigued." he tells me as if he can read my mind. "I can." he says. What!?

"_**Can you speak to him?"**_ River asks in amazement.

I mentally shrug before taking the clothes from Alice in my mouth and wandering aimlessly behind a tree. To calm myself I think of home, my new home, with Charlie. I phase back quickly and pull my clothes on before walking back out from behind the tree to come face to face with the two Cullen's.

"Whatever your reason was, thank you for not hurting Skylar." I say in a monotonous voice.

Edward nods. "We've already tried to tell you, we're not here to harm anyone, not you, not your pack, not the humans." he says, adding emphasis on the words 'you' 'your pack' and 'humans' as if that should make me feel better about everything.

"Well, maybe not everything, but just my family." he says with a shrug.

"What?" I ask.

"You're asking questions, I have the answers." he tells me with another shrug. The fuck is he on about? "How about we all go down to the beach now?" he asks.

"Why?" is it so he can kill us off and leave the town helpless?

"No!" he says quickly. What!? "We just need to explain some things before the council get there, things that we should explain to you guys. We only go to the beach because it's mutual ground and none of the school kids really go there anymore." he adds slightly rushed. While he was speaking Kyla nudged me and dropped my phone at my feet along with the cash from my pockets.

I thank her, put it all in my pockets, then turn back to Edward. "So, what's the deal with this bonfire then?" I ask.

"Well, since we as vampires are flammable it makes the humans on the beech feel safer if they're closer to the fire." Edward replies.

"And it keeps them warm." Alice adds with a still friendly smile.

I nod to show that I'm listening.

We stand and talk in the woods for another hour before I phase to break the command for Skylar, I tell her to wait at my house and tell Charlie that I'll be ten minutes.

"Okay, so be at the beech in one hour, we'll explain everything." Edward says. As I'm phased I reply with a nod.

"And we'll bring a load of food!" Alice exclaims happily as she claps her hands and jumps up and down. The pack seems excited suddenly at the mention of food, they always are.

"Should you be getting home for five?" Edward asks me. I nod and give him a questioning glance. "It's just a guess." he says with a crooked smile and a shrug. I nod, I don't believe him though. "You know, it's five to now." he adds on.

I groan thinking that we've only got five minutes to do a fifteen minute run. It'd only take five in the truck, but because we've got to stick to the woods it's gonna be a little bit harder.

"_**Bells, we left your truck in the woods, you could drive back to your place and we'll just follow your scent."**_ River says into the pack mind, there's a second of silence before a hum of agreement coming from everyone else.

I smile mentally, my pack have come so far since they first phased, it makes me proud. _**"Great idea, I'll get going now, I'll see you guys in twenty minutes maximum, okay?"**_ I say in a soft tone, still smiling.

There's a communal mental nod before I shoot off further into the woods, I follow the directions that Matt tells me until I reach my truck, both doors open, scratches from branches and careless driving, but still my good old truck.

I drop my clothes from my mouth into the bed of the truck before phasing back into my human form. I pull my underwear on and just stand for a moment, I look at my shoulder where Skylar ripped into it, it's not bleeding, but it's a bloody mess, it's healing though.

Without another glance I pull my shirt and pants on and hop into the car, I've got my phone and cash in my pocket. I'll just put the cast back I guess, so no shopping. Bummer.

I slide in the driver side to find the keys still in the ignition, damn, guess they were in a rush to phase.

Smiling to myself, I turn the key and start the truck up. I put it in reverse before realising that the passenger door is still wide open. I just slide over and pull it closed, and then I'm reversing again.

It takes me all of one minute to reverse out of the woods and onto the road. I may or may not have nearly smashed into three cars when reversing onto the road, but that's their problem, not mine. I slam my foot down and floor it all the way back home before skidding to a stop in my drive way.

Charlie's cruiser is parked right outside the house, I quickly check the time on my cell, it reads '17:01' close enough, right?

With a small smile on my face I hop out of my truck and walk casually to the door. Before I can even get my key in the lock it's being swung open. "You scared the life out of, Bells!" Charlie exclaims.

I'm a little taken back by his scared tone, but immediately feel better when I notice Billy has been with him, and still is in out living room. "Sorry, Dad," I say. "I was talking to some of my old friends from Phoenix, I guess I just lost track of time." I add on with an innocent shrug. "And, hi, Billy!" I say enthusiastically as Charlie moves aside to let me in.

"Bella!" he greets with just as much enthusiasm. "You were talking to people from Phoenix, doesn't that cost an arm and a leg!?" he says half seriously with a joyful laugh.

I smile and nod. "Yeah, it would, but they came to see me, they got here about an hour ago, trying to catch me right after school I guess." I lie smoothly.

His eyes seem to grow a little bit harder, like he knows that I'm lying, but he says nothing about it, just "Well, I've been saying to your old dad here that we're having a bonfire on first beech, you're both invited of course." he says with a sweet smile.

I smile back, now why would he want to invite the two of us to talk with vampires? "Yeah, the Cullen's asked if we wanted to go, I just said that I'd try to get Dad in on it." I reply, my smile not faltering.

"Well, it looks like we're set then, come on old man, wheel me outside, your house is too stuffy." Billy says, he back hands Charlie's arm lightly to get his attention.

Charlie laughs a little before grabbing the handles of Billy's chair. "Of course your highness." he says with mock seriousness. "Oh, and Bells?"

"Yeah?" I reply.

"Billy's son, Jake, is in the bathroom upstairs, just saying so you don't try to kill him when he comes downstairs." Charlie says with a small smile.

I pretend to salute. "Okay, got it, no killing of your best friend's son." I say with a genuine smile.

He and Billy chuckle slightly before leaving.

Okay, act normal, it's a normal day, you've just got six werewolves coming to your house, no, wait, five, so that means that Skylar is already here, shit!

I sprint outside and stand in Charlie's and Billy's way. "Hi." I say nervously, unsure what I can do to prevent them from seeing her.

The two men give me odd looks. "Bella, are you okay?" Billy asks me.

"Of course I am!" I say a little too harshly and too quickly. "I, uh, I just need a moment alone in the garden, if you don't mind." wow, that was the best I could come up with? "It's a very sentimental place, you know?" I say trying to drag this on a little longer.

"Uh-"

"Thanks, Dad!" I all but yell. "I knew you'd understand, five minutes, cool? Okay? Good? Thanks!" without another word said I jog into the back garden. "Skylar?" I whisper. I hear a slight whimper, now she chooses to be submissive!

I turn to the whimper to see her hiding behind some trees, poor thing, there's barely anything to even try to hide behind in my yard. "Shit, Sky, I'm sorry, I didn't realise that he'd have company, I'm sorry." I tell her. She nods, she looks like she's waiting for something though, but what? Clothes! Shit!

"Fuck, you need some clothes, right?" I ask her as I face palm myself. She nods sheepishly.

I groan to myself.

"Okay," I say "so here's what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna give you my clothes then go in through my window, you're gonna follow me to the front of my house, you'll get your clothes from the back of my truck, and all will be good and dandy, okay?" please don't fail!

She nods, determined. Good.

She phases back in front of me, I pull my shirt and pants off and hand them to her. Since she was the first of my pack to phase with me I don't get awkward with nudity around her, I guess it's because it was just us two for so long. She takes the shirt and pants from me before pulling them on. "Thanks, Bells." she mutters quietly.

"No problem, now come on." I say I punch her shoulder lightly in a friendly manor.

She smiles and gets ready to do it back, but she stops as her eyes fall on my slightly mangled shoulder, she visibly winces at the sight. "Sorry." she whispers, suddenly submissive again.

"What, about that?" I ask, trying to make my tone upbeat. "Well I'm sorry about almost chewing your ass then." I say with a smile.

She smiles back. "Gross." she whispers as her face scrunches up.

We laugh together for a moment before I tap her arm lightly. "Come on." I say as I walk around the side of my house, the opposite side to where Charlie and Billy are.

"You guys!" I yell. "I'm done in the garden!"

"Kay!" I get back from Charlie.

When I'm sure there are no cars coming and no one around I climb up into the tree outside my room. "Oh, Sky?"

"Yeah?"

"You mind throwing the clothes bag into the woods across the road, the guys are probably waiting by now." I tell her with another smile. Despite her being a bit of a bitch there are times when she needs to be around a smiley person.

She nods, she's still smiling too. "Yeah, sure." she says.

I turn away from her and jump to my window ledge before pulling myself into my room.

With a huff I fall the rest of the way through my window and land on my face with an undignified grunt.

I stand and stretch, popping a few of my joints. I notice that my bedroom door's still open from this morning, so I wander mindlessly across the carpeted floor of my bedroom and reach for my door.

The second my hand touches the metal the bathroom door swings open, and out walks the most incredible looking human being that I have ever seen. I mean, sure he looks kind of shocked that I'm just standing in my underwear staring at him, but his eyes don't travel down my body, they just lock onto my own and stay there.

I stare into his gorgeous pools of chocolate brown eyes until he finally speak, snapping us both out of whatever trance we were previously in.

"You're only in underwear." is all he says.

Shit! Even his voice is beautiful!

**So, you like?**

**I like!**

**I thought that it was about time to get Jacob in there, but that's not to say that anything will happen between two hormonal teenagers, especially when one of them is practically naked…**

**I hope that you stick around for chapter three. For anyone who's wondering by the way, Jenna, Bella's sister will be in the story at some point, she's almost as much of a main character as Bella, but in her own special way.**

**Also, given time I am hoping that this fic will evolve and get larger until I have basically rewritten all four books (Only four as I can't really change much about 'The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner' so yeah, but that might also happen) from start to end.**

**Okay, just bare with me, chapter three is on its way.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, here we meet again, how odd!**

**Okay, down to business, I really hope that you liked the last two chapters, and I really, really, really hope that you like it enough to carry on reading.**

**Any questions that anyone has please leave as a review, or you can private message me, I will answer any questions in this little section thingy that I put before every chapter, so it is worth reading. Anyhow, onwards!**

**~*Chapter 3*~**

**Bella*~**

"You're right." I say in reply, slightly embarrassed. "Yep, I am in my underwear." I say awkwardly.

He nods, his long hair looks so soft, what! It does!

"I'm, I uh, sorry about, uh-"

"Yeah, no, it's cool, I forgot to close my door." I say with a small smile.

He nods again, his eyes never leaving mine. I swear I'm hypnotised or something. "Yeah, so I'm Jacob." he says, his smile gets larger.

"Jacob, yeah I remember you." I tell him honestly. "Bella, by the way, but you probably know, since everyone else does." I say. And all of a sudden, all of the awkwardness is gone.

"Yeah, your dad's been kind of buzzed about it for months, telling everyone that one of his girls is coming back." Jacob adds. "I'm just peed off that I didn't get to see my fellow mud pie maker a whole lot sooner." he says with the most stunning, heart stopping smile ever.

I blush a little, I'm not even sure why! "You remember that?" I ask him incredulously.

"Yeah, course I do, how could I forget!" he replies with a chuckle.

I look away from him nervously, then it hits me, he can see my scars. "I just, uh, one moment." I say, I close my door. "Just wait right there!" I shout to him through the door.

"Okay!" he shouts back, chuckling at my sudden change of mood. I hear him muttering to himself the other side of the wood though. "Come on Jake, pull yourself together, just act cool." he tells himself softly. "She's way out- ugh! This is ridiculous!"

I smile softly as I grab some dark green shorts from my wardrobe, I grab a blood-red tank top too. I slip my clothes on before grabbing some think socks and remembering that my shoes from this morning are probably in the bed of my truck, shit! I just grab another pair of black ones with 'The Joker' written on the side of one, 'Batman' written on the side of the other, and pictures of the two characters on them both.

Jacob's stopped muttering to himself, so I take that as a sign that it's safe to go back out and ogle h- I mean talk to him. Yeah, talk to him, that's what I meant.

I pull my bedroom door open to find him casually leaning against the bathroom door frame. "Hi again." he says, and he flashes me another one of those heart warming smiles that makes my stomach do flips.

"Hi." I say back with a small slightly embarrassed smile on my face.

We stand in a sort of awkward silence where neither of us know what to do.

"Bells!" Charlie yells up the stairs, making us both jump.

Jacob chuckles a little at my wide eyes and the fact that I literally jumped at the sound of Charlie's voice, as in right into my door frame. I hide the fact that I winced as my sore shoulder touched the wood by laughing a little. "Yeah?" I shout back down to Charlie.

"There are some friends here for you!" he shouts.

"Shit!" I murmur. "I forgot about them." I tell Jacob with a small smile. "I'll be down in a minute!" I yell to Charlie.

"Alright!"

"So," I say to Jacob. "you coming downstairs?" he ask him.

He nods his head with a small chuckle. "Well, I'm not planning on staying here on my own while you're down there." he says casually. My heart skips a beat when he says 'while you're down there' I smile up at his six foot frame.

"Well, come on then." I say with a smile before jogging down the stairs and skipping the last three entirely. "I'll introduce you to my friends, you'll like them I think." I say enthusiastically to Jacob, Charlie and Billy.

I open the door to my six pack mates. "Hey guys." I say with a smile. What is up with me? Why the fuck am I flouncing around like a god damn Barbie?

My pack seem to have the same question written across their faces. "Come on in." I say happily as I hold the door wide open for them all. They file in one by one, Skylar at the back.

"He's kind of cute." she whispers with a wink. She speaks so quietly that only the pack can hear with our super sensitive hearing. I turn beat read and try not to make eye contact with any of them as they chuckle and smile at me. But she's right, he is cute, no, he's beyond cute, he's gorgeous, but I vowed never to date anyone unless they were my imprint, so he's not for me.

I turn to Charlie, Billy and Jacob who have retreated to the wall that joins the kitchen to our living room to make room for my friends.

"Okay, so these are my friends from back in Phoenix." I say kind of awkwardly.

The six of give awkward waves, just great. "I called them round because Edward Cullen said that they were welcome to come to the bonfire, I hope that we're not imposing?" I say looking Billy's direction.

"The more the merrier!" he says happily, although I can tell that he's not too sure about it. "Now, I believe that introductions are in order." he adds, I nod with a smile.

"Okay, guys, this is my dad, Charlie." I say as I walk over to him, I give him a little point, he in turn gives a small wave. "This is Billy," he too gives a wave. "And this is Billy's son, Jacob."

"Hi." Jacob says with a bright smile and a wave.

My pack wave with smiles of their own. I walk over to them and start on the left, then go right. "This is Skylar." I say. "We've been friends since I was like twelve or thirteen, then you've got Kyla," I point to the other end. "They're sisters."

The two of them stand next to each other so it's less confusing and give waves just as Charlie, Jacob and Billy did. "Hi." the two of them say in unison before giggling a little at their timing.

"Marcus and Ashley." I say as I move on. They both smile and wave with a "Hi." or "Hello.".

"And finally, you've got Matthias and River." I say, still chirpy.

"Hi." River says brightly.

Matt just smiles slightly uncomfortably and waves a little.

"Well," Billy says. "It's lovely to meet you all, but I do think that we should all get going, we only have half an hour to get to the beech and Charlie here won't go past thirty miles an hour." he adds with a slight smack to Charlie's arm.

Charlie chuckles a little. "I'm a cop, old man, of course I stick to the limits." he says.

Billy just shrugs in return and mutters something about Charlie being a boring old fart. The pack and I snort out quiet laughter. Billy's face lights up a little, as if he's just discovered the answer to the world's largest problems.

The ten of us shuffle awkwardly out of the door before Charlie realises that we've got his five seat cruiser and my two seat truck. I assure him that it'll be fine for Billy, Jacob and himself to go in his cruiser, but of course he worries about safety and all that. "Oh, come on!" Billy says happily. "Bella's a careful driver, right?"

"Yes!" I quickly pipe up.

My pack chuckles beside me, I harshly jab the closest one, it ends up being Marcus who just bursts into uncontrollable laughter.

"In the truck, dummies!" I snap. "Skylar, you're in the front with me." I tell her. She smiles a little before skipping off to hop in the passenger door.

I watch as Jacob carefully gets Billy in the cruiser and can't help but admire his well muscled body. I catch myself staring and look away quickly. "Alright, you lead the way." I say to Charlie. He chuckles and nods. Shit! I've been caught.

With my head down to hide my blush I walk over to my truck and hop in the driver's seat. "Okay, ready!" I yell to Charlie. He gives me the thumbs up from his cruiser before reversing out of the drive and waiting a little way along our street for me to follow.

"Now, guys I need you to listen up." I say as I reverse out of the drive. I know they can all hear me, so I carry on. "I'm not mad about what happened, but this time there will be humans around." I say, I wait until they've all nodded to me. "You all know how I hate setting orders, so I won't, I'm gonna trust you all to be mature enough to keep yourselves in check. If you need to phase, and I mean if you really, really need to, then you find me and say that you're gonna take a walk, then you go deep into the woods and do what you've gotta do, okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about-" Skylar starts, but I cut her off with a wave of my hand.

I just shake my head and smile. "Don't worry, what's done is done, we can all learn from our mistakes, I was kind of throwing you out of my truck anyway, but none of us heard, saw, or smelled them, no one is fully to blame, okay?" I see her nod from the corner of my eye. "Good, now we need to go to a bonfire, eat everything in sight, and see why these creeps have yellow eyes, seem cool with all you guys?" I ask happily.

I get a communal shout of "Yeah!" from them all, I smile even wider and speed up a little to keep close to Charlie.

We drive the rest of the way pretty much in silence, aside from the odd comment, or someone threatening to push someone else out of the truck.

When we get there it's ten to six and impressively, it's not raining! I know, it's a miracle!

One by one we all hop out/off of the truck and onto the damp sandy beech. "It's so different here to home." River says, she and Matt suddenly next to me. He nods in agreement. "It's cold for one thing." she adds. "And it rains."

"Yeah, but it's nice." I say, immediately defending my home.

She chuckles lightly. "Yeah it is, it's great, just different." she says with a shrug.

"Bells!" Charlie shouts from his cruiser as he pulls out a few six packs of beer.

I smile, he should have a good time, he works so damn hard! "Yeah?" I yell back.

"Can I borrow your truck?" he shouts back. "We want to get some good firewood in the bed." he adds on.

"Yeah, sure! You want us to go get some? Save you the time?"

"Uh, yeah, that'd be great, thanks, Bells, if you go with Jake that should be enough!"

"Okay!"

Okay, quality time with heart stopping smiling, drop dead gorgeous Jacob and his silky hair. I can handle that, right?

River and Matt walk away from me slowly with small smirks invading both of their faces. Shut up! I want to yell at them, how can they read me so easily? Out of the corner of my eye I notice Jacob hopping into my passenger door, waiting for me. Well, I shouldn't keep the poor guy waiting now should I.

I jog from where I'm standing over the beech to my truck and jump into the driver's seat. "Hey." I say to Jacob with a warm smile.

"Hi," he replies, now, when I say that his smile is gorgeous, I truly mean it. I've never so much as taken a second look at a boy before, and the same applies for Jacob, but that's only because you can't have a second look if you never turned away the first time. "Uh, I kind of have no idea why I'm in your truck." he says with a slight blush evident of his stunning features.

I raise an eyebrow pointedly at him. "Do you usually get into strangers' trucks for no reason?" I tease lightly.

He chuckles slightly, and it's music to my ears. He stops abruptly, his face grows cold, serious before he leans really close to me and whispers in my ear. "Only if they're really pretty." my breath hitches at his comment, I can't fucking breathe!

I know I'm blushing, I know it, but that doesn't stop me from smiling shyly up at him as he leans away from me, he wears a lazy smile that suits his face well, it's actually kind of sexy if I do say so myself. "We're collecting fire wood." I mumble quietly, still grinning as I look down at the steering wheel.

"Ah, okay." is all he says as he settles further back into his seat and closes his eyes when his head touches the headrest.

I smile at his chilled expression before turning the key in the ignition and starting my truck up. It takes a little while for the engine to start up, but the second it does I reverse across the beech, purposely aiming for Skylar, I clip her shoulder on the way past and stick my fingers up through the window. "He's changed you already!" she yells with a smile.

Charlie and Billy stand/sit slightly mortified as they see me aim for her, then I finally drive into her at twenty miles per hour, she just lands on the sand and laughs it off.

"Jeez! Is she okay?" Jacob asks, he's suddenly leaning forwards in his seat trying to look out of his window, although he sounds concerned I can see the slight smirk tugging at his face.

In reply, I nod. "Yeah, she's fine." I tell him with a shrug as I stop reversing and turn my truck in towards the forest. I drive quickly but safely through the forest until we come to a large fallen tree and both slip quietly out of the truck.

"Old man should've got me to do this earlier." Jacob mutters to himself with a small shake of his head. "Sorry about you getting roped into this, its gotta be a pretty bad way to start your first party here." he adds a little louder to me, he shoots me a sympathetic look.

I shake my head, a smile on my face. "Nah, I'm actually having a pretty awesome time." I admit with a shrug. He just nods, his smile still present. I don't mention that that's down to him entirely.

Silently, we grab as much wood for the fire as we can and stuff it all in my truck. I try not to show my strength by lifting large logs, but when I forget I just tell Jacob that they're hollow and really light. Ten minutes later, when we've finally got enough to keep a good fire going for a few hours, we head back through the forest in my truck to the beech.

The second we pull onto the beech I can smell, see and hear them. They're here, oh joy! I try not to lose my smile, but I can already feel it slipping from my face. "Y'okay?" Jacob asks me, his own stunning smile faltering a little. I feel instantly guilty for making his grin die, even if it is only a little bit.

I try in vain to rearrange my old smile. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine, just thought I smelled something funny." I tell him with a shrug.

He nods, unconvinced.

When the truck is parked I notice two silver cars on the beech: a Volvo and a Jeep. All seven of them are their this time, and all fourteen eyes are locked on me, I can feel them through the windshield, it's a sickening feeling, although my pack are doing well, they're keeping their distance.

BANG! "Shit!" I squeal as something pops up beside me and flops into my door. The idiotic laughter of Skylar rings through the air like a god damn siren. "Bitch!" I yell at her as she jogs off laughing to herself to Matt and River.

Jacob shakes with laughter beside me. "Shut up." I mutter, trying to suppress a smile. "She scared the shit out of me." I say as I allow my laughter to get through for just a second. "Come on, help me get all this crap out of the truck." I get out while nudging Jacob in the side with my elbow and hopping out of my truck.

He follows me without another word to the back of my truck and start at the firewood. I don't look as I reach for the first piece, it's warm, and soft, so soft, why so soft? It's as soft as skin… oh. I blush immediately and pull my hand away from Jacob's. "Sorry-"

"Sorry-"

We both mutter at the same time. We both chuckle slightly, but neither of us make any move to look at the other when we speak.

As I grab one of the small logs and walk over towards Charlie and Billy I notice that there are a few other people here too, a few other guys that look about Jacob's age, a couple that look closer to my age, then a few like Billy and Charlie's age. On the up side, we're not outnumbered anymore now I've got my pack.

When I reach the two old men they've got someone else with them. "Hi," I say politely, I tuck the log under my left arm and hold my right hand out for the other man to shake. "I'm Bella." I add on with a smile. I've seen photos of this man around the house, they're always of him holding a missive fish, or the three of them holding an even bigger fish. I think his name's Harry.

He takes my hand in his own with a firm grip and a deep grumbled laugh. "Harry, Harry Clearwater." he says, his voice rumbles through his chest in an old fatherly way, it's sort of comforting. "And trust me, I know who you are. Your old man here wouldn't shut up about you for months, I'm pretty sure that I've got enough dirt on you to write a book!" the three of us laugh together as Harry and I shake hands.

"Well, I hope he's only told you good things." I reply good naturedly, but also, I'm curious, what if Charlie had a drunken moment where my secret spilled? No. No. He wouldn't. I know he wouldn't.

Harry releases my hand, I use it to grab the log with both hands. "I didn't know that there was anything bad to tell?" Harry says questioningly.

"Even the best of us have other sides." Billy says, he shoots me a knowing look, Harry does the same, Charlie just looks worried.

Harry nods to Billy with another chuckle. "That we do, Billy, that we do" he concludes.

The four of us just sort of stand for a moment until Jacob comes bounding over holding one of the massive logs that I picked up. "Seriously, Charlie, what are you feeding her!" he exclaims happily oblivious to the exchange happening before him. "She lifted this thing with one hand, it weighs a ton!"

"Well, she does the cooking, my bet is that my little Bells is slipping something in there." Charlie jokes with Jacob.

Jacob, Charlie and Billy laugh, Harry and I just stand, having a sort of stare off. "So, where to chief?" Jacob asks his father, his smile still present.

Billy gives out a few orders as to where we're to place the logs, in the end two of Jacob's friends find their way over, they're called Quil and Embry, they're pretty cool. Jacob, Quil and Embry set about doing the rest of the logs telling me that I should go and talk to my friends for a while so they don't feel left out. I happily comply.

I walk over to where Skylar and Kyla are sitting alone and plonk myself down onto the sand beside them. The two of them are sitting side by side, not speaking, no noise whatsoever. "Now, I know you're both excited, but could you please tone it down a little?" I say sarcastically. They both snap their heads up to meet my gaze.

"Sorry." Skylar says with a tight-lipped smile. I just shrug my shoulders indifferently.

Kyla's eyes flit over to the Cullens before snapping back to me. "Yeah, they're just making me a little jumpy." she adds onto Skylar's comment. I nod knowingly.

"If it helps, I think that they're gonna prove fun to chase, and they'll give a good fight." I say with a small smirk. Skylar's own smile becomes more genuine at the idea of a chase.

Just then, as if they heard us -they probably did- the oldest ones -looks wise- stand from where they were resting against the hood of the Jeep. Their eyes lock on the three of us and they start towards us. Skylar shakes beside me but takes a calming breath. This can't happen here. Not now. Not yet.

"Sky, go help get that fire going." I say authoritatively. Without even questioning me, she stands and jogs over to the others, she grabs them and tugs them towards the wood still in my truck and they lot of them start unloading. "Kyla you ready?" I ask as I bump shoulders with her gently.

She nudges me back playfully before saying, "As I'll ever be." and standing.

I stand with her and brush the slightly damp sand from my butt and legs. Damned stuff gets everywhere. I start towards the Cullens with as friendly a smile as I can muster.

From the corner of my eye I notice Billy, Harry and Charlie all staring at Kyla and I as we approach the Cullens, there's a look of pain on Billy's face, as if he's scared of what could happen.

As we reach them I notice that they too have the odd coloured eyes. "Good evening." the male greets with a large friendly looking smile.

I hold my smile too as I speak. "Evening." I reply, Kyla just smiles sweetly.

"My name is Dr. Carlisle Cullen, I work at the local hospital, so if you are in need of any medical attention, don't hesitate to ask." he says, he holds his hand out for me to shake. "And this is my wife Esme Cullen." he says as I cautiously reach for his hand. From how closely Kyla is standing I feel her tense beside me when our hands meet. His hands are exceptionally cold, it's like shaking a piece of sculpted marble. It's horrible.

His wife smiles as her husband releases my hand and holds it out to Kyla, she just sort of stares at it a little before fumbling with a couple of words that don't really end up coming out as anything but a squeak. "She's not all that social, I'm sure you understand." I say with a polite yet disgusted smile.

He pulls his hand away sharply with a sad smile. "Ah, of course, I'm sorry to make you uncomfortable." he says, he sounds sincere as he speaks directly to Kyla. She merely shrugs.

"How rude of me, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself or my friend." I say with fake politeness. "I'm Bella, one of Charlie's daughters. And this is my friend Kyla, she and some of my other friends came from Phoenix to surprise me today." I say.

"Ah, well, it's lovely to meet the two of you." Carlisle says. Yet again, why the fuck does he sound so genuine!?

"I take it that you have met our children?" his wife, Esme, asks us.

I nod with a small smirk. "That we have." I say.

As I look over the shoulder of Esme, I see their kids, the family, they start to advance on us. "Kyla, why don't you go talk to the guys for a while?" I say as I turn to my beta. She gives me a questioning look. "I'm okay here, go on." I add with a smile.

Slowly, cautiously, she slinks away with many questions bubbling all over her face. But she eventually leaves, leaving me with now seven vampires.

"Feeling vulnerable?" Cage-fighter asks with a wicked smirk.

I shrug. "Not really." I lie. "You?"

He chuckles a little. "Nah, I'm good."

"Emmett!" Esme scolds lightly.

He looks at her with a cross of shock and horror. "What I do!?" he exclaims. He sound like a real teenager.

"She's already uncomfortable as it is, don't make it worse!" Alice snaps. The constipated one has his arm round his shoulder, he's eyeing me suspiciously. He stares at me before looking away, knowing by the look on his face that he thinks he could take me.

The thought of this vamp being so cocky gets me really riled up. I don't shake as I suspected I would, but I can feel myself getting hotter. "Not as uncomfortable now." I say lightly with a shrug.

All but Edward looks at me with an odd expression. "You want to keep your friends away from us, so that if it comes to it they won't get hurt." he says simply.

Esme and Carlisle look mortified. I shrug. He's right though, that is the plan, that if needs be my death will take long enough that they and most of the humans can get away.

"I promise you one thing, Bella." Carlisle says. His tone is soft and slightly wounded. "We're not her to harm anybody, all shall be explained later." he adds.

I nod, although I do not understand.

"Bells!" Charlie's voice echoes across the beech.

I turn towards his voice and yell back. "Yeah?"

"Lighter?" he bellows. I just nod before pulling the ones from my pocket.

The vamps all suck in small unnecessary breaths. "What were you planning on doing with those?" Cage-fighter asks.

"Take a wild guess." I mutter as I jog off away from them and over to Charlie.

"Hey, Bells." Charlie says with a small smile.

I smile back at him. "Hey, dad." I reply.

His eyes flit over my injured shoulder for the first time and widen slightly. "Bells, what-?"

"Nothing." I say.

Charlie huffs out an annoyed breath, he knows he won't get it out of me. "Fine, but what did the Cullens have to say?" he asks.

I shrug. "They were just introducing themselves." I tell him as I offer him the lighter.

He takes it with a small smirk. "Oh, so them being polite got you storming off over here did it?"

"Yup." I reply, I pop the 'p' awkwardly. Does he know what they are? "So, time to play with fire?" I ask enthusiastically. He chuckles a little before nodding and walking away, beckoning for me to follow him.

I follow him over to where my pack are piling sticks into the middle of the small pit that's going to be used for the bonfire. They all shoot me questioning looks, no doubt wondering why the vamps were so cheery with me, I just give them a shrug, I sure as hell don't know.

Skylar hands me a stick, it's about a metre long and two inches thick, one end is doused in some foul smelling liquid that I'm sure is brandy. We keep it in the bags for burning vamps. I smirk her way, she just smiles back innocently before punching my good shoulder lightly. Some of the larger logs that Jacob and I brought have been shoved into the sand as seats, in other places there are wool blankets or picnic blankets. There's a seat for everyone. The only problem is how close they all are, someone will have to practically be on one of the vamp's knees.

The lot of us clear out of the small pit and watch as Charlie has a stick of his own, just like mine and lights it using my lighter. Once the stick is alight he lowers it and holds it by the well structured bonfire for a while. I watch with a content smile as he lights it and as the vamps flinch a little.

It doesn't take long for everyone to settle down. I end up sitting between Jacob and Edward, I know, just my luck. No, honestly though, I opted to be the one to sit by the vamps. But since we're sitting in a circle, someone else had sit by Cage-fighter, Skylar. She and Kyla pretend that they like talking with the Clearwater's eldest, Leah. I pretty sure that she is fun to talk to, but they just wanted to sit by the vamps.

All of the pack members and some of the other teens -one named Sam, he had a couple of friends with him, but I didn't catch their names- graciously accepted sticks like mine and Charlie's and lit them. Skylar, being the bitch that she is, started twirling hers between her fingers, every so often she'd drop it 'accidentally' by Cage-fighter's feet, every time he'd flinch back but laugh it off.

"So, thank you all for joining us here today." Billy says, he sound like we're here for a wedding. "Now, just let me say that this is a very rare occasion, one that may never happen again within our lifetime, yet we are here today to witness it." yep, definitely a wedding.

I'm ashamed to admit that I may or may not have zoned out a little when Billy carried on talking. I let my mind drift, it went from thinking about how Jenna is, to Jacob. I imagined him holding me, his hands running up and down my sides, him coming up behind me and hugging me, him kissing my neck, and finally, I finally thought about what it would be like to have his lips brush my own.

I know, it's terrible, I've not seen him for years and I'm suddenly fantasizing about there being an 'us' but I can't help it! He's just so damn cute!

Honestly, I'm not sure how long I was thinking, but I was shocked back into reality by Marcus. While Billy was still telling stories Marcus reached round Jacob and prodded my shoulder. I immediately turned to him, he was shaking, real bad too. He made a walking motion with his forefinger and middle finger before pointing to the woods.

I smile softly at him in return before nodding gently. He smiles my way and stands. Everyone stops and watches as he slowly jogs off into the woods.

"Is he alright?" one of Sam's friends asks with a quizzical look on his face. He's not asking anyone in particular, but I answer anyway.

"Yeah." I say. "He's fine, he's got ADHD, sometimes he just needs to run around a little." I add on, it's the same lie that we each use for one another every time something like this happens.

He nods unconvinced. Shit!

The rest of the night passes without a hitch. Marcus came back about ten minutes later, but my favourite part of the night happened at about ten PM, Kyla and Skylar were texting, so when Skylar's cell buzzed from her pocket she swung her flaming stick right at Cage-fighter's face, missing by inches, "Hold this will ya?" she asked him. He laughed a little before carefully taking the stick. Everything after that was a bit of a blur.

Before I forget, River was standing knee high in the sea water, before any of could have even guessed what was gonna happen Matt was there, he grabbed her round the waist and swung her about five metres away into the sea, she made a point of hugging him in her drenched clothes, she even went as far as 'accidentally' bumping into Alice a couple of times.

Currently though, I'm sitting in my truck with all of my friends, we're on our way back to my place. I'm pissed though, the Cullens never did explain anything to me. Oh well.

I swear though, I've never been so tired in my life!

The second we're back home they guys grab their bags and head off into the woods, I just follow Charlie, Billy and Jacob into the house before collapsing across the length of the couch. "Bells?" Charlie's voice registers in my head.

"Yeah?" I mumble against the couch cushions.

"Billy and Jake are gonna stay the night, you wanna show them where the spare room is?" he asks me softly. "I'm gonna go up now, gotta get my sleep, you too though, Bells."

With a huff and a grunt I roll myself off of the couch, my face is met with a smack to the cold hard ground. "Ah!" I snap sleepily, slapping the floor as if that'll make it all better. I force myself up, "Come on then." I say slightly impatiently.

Jacob and Billy follow me to the spare room. The second they're in there I'm back out again, and yet again, I launch myself onto the couch and press my face into the soft material.

I know that I can go for like forty-eight hours without sleep, but being around the vamps and not being able to phase has really taken it out of me. I'm vaguely aware of the footsteps pottering around the house, but I think nothing of it, after all, it can only be Billy, Charlie or Jacob. Jacob. Mmm… Jacob. I've decided that I like Jacob.

There's a slight chuckle, I'm too sure where in the house it comes from, I'd be able to hear if it was Charlie and my incredibly hearing would make it sound like he was right next to me.

"Bells." comes the voice of what can only be an angel. "Bells?" it says again.

I'm too far out of it to reply.

The feeling of a nice warm hand on my shoulder. It's so gentle! The hand pulls me a little until I've rolled over. My eyes are still closed, but I can hear the heartbeat of the person, it's official, I'm not dreaming yet.

When I'm on my back the hand is gone, but soon comes back again, it's joined by another. The first hand becomes an arm and goes softly round my shoulders, the second under my knees. And suddenly, the couch is gone from under me, I'm in the arms of my angelic stranger.

I inhale deeply when my face meets a strong, broad, yet soft chest, I can smell the woods, the beech, and the fumes from a fire. Why does such a strange combination smell of home? That's not what my old home smelled of. It's not what this home smells of. But it's the smell of home.

There's a slight rocking motion, my angel's walking.

"I missed you so bad." he says, his voice is raspy, yet just like his chest, soft.

"You were my best friend for so long." he speaks again.

"You have no idea how much it broke me when you left."

"There was no light in my days."

"You were the light in my life."

"Why did you leave me?"

I feel his pace slow as he takes the stairs on by one.

A warm rush goes through me, could it be? Am I being held by my imprint? Shouldn't I be fully awake to imprint? Why does his voice sound like Jacob's? Mmm, Jacob.

"Did you miss me the way I missed you?" he whispers, it's almost inaudible, but I catch it. I want to scream, to cry out, yes! Yes I missed you! But I don't, he'll say this to me when he's ready. Right now he thinks I'm asleep, and it's gonna stay that way.

"There were so many days where I cried myself to sleep, where I cried 'cause dad said you weren't coming home this summer, or when he had to remind me that Saturday's sleepover was cancelled, or that you weren't coming over after school. It broke me, Bella." his voice cracks a little.

I feel him lay me down on the soft mattress of my bunk bed. "Everyone sees my smile, all day every day, but I smile because I hurt. I smile because surely so much hurt means that it's time for a break, right? They say the saddest person will smile the brightest, I guess that's me." he gives a humourless chuckle before removing his arms from me.

"Good night, Bella." he whispers softly before leaning towards me so I can feel his breath on my face and leaving a soft peck on my dry, chapped lips.

And that's when I know, that single kiss is telling me something.

How can it be?

I've seen him before since I phased.

Seriously, how?

How on earth has this happened?

I may not have the answers to those questions, but I've got the answer to one, the most important of them all: what just happened?

Well, I'll tell you what just happened, I just imprinted on Jacob Black.

**So, what do you think? That a good enough chapter?**

**I know it's a little shorter than usual, but I couldn't really think today, sorry.**

**Anyhow, chapter four is on it's merry way.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, I'm not sure who's actually reading this, but if you are then thank you. I know I'm not one of the best authors on here by a long shot, and I know that I barely ever update, but thanks for sticking by me with this story. The truth is that I have a bucket load of exams this year and next year, so I write when I can, but otherwise I'm revising.**

**I haven't gotten any reviews so far, but I'm optimistic!**

**So, I'm sorry if I get any names or ages wrong, but I'm a dummy so you can't blame me. Also, I've added a few little bits and bobs in, so if there are bits that you don't recognise that's because I decided that that's what happens, okay? Good, let's go!**

**Anyway…**

**~*Chapter 4*~**

**Bella*~**

When I woke this morning all I could think about was Jacob. It was about six, and I could hear his and Billy's light snores. I knew that Charlie would be awake.

Even now, as I sit in my homeroom I'm thinking about him. I can't help it.

Breakfast was awkward, only for me, but I harbour enough awkwardness for a whole village.

I've got biology first, you'll never guess who texted me saying that we're practically together all day… if you guess Jacob then you're an idiot, he goes to school on the rez. Nope, good little Eddie, I'm with him practically all day, whoopee fucking doo.

The bell rings, end of home room.

I grab my bag from under my desk, sling it over my shoulder, and follow the massive rush of people from the room. As well as _him_ there are a couple of other people that I know in my biology class, in fact, everyone else that I know, so Jess, Eric, Mike, and Angela. I guess they'll be fun to talk to.

Bag on shoulder, I walk straight to my locker and open it, I stuff my bag inside it at grab the books that I'll need before walking off to class.

I wonder what lesson Jacob's in right now?

I didn't see my pack this morning, so I've yet to tell them about imprinting on Jacob. I think they'll be happy, but then they'll get pissed when they realise he's not one of us. It's not that they don't like humans, but we always have to keep an eye on them, in case they tell, or if they get hurt. Humans break so easily.

When I get to biology I notice that most of the kids are already sitting in their seats. "Ah, you must be Bella, correct?" a middle aged man asks me from the front of the room.

I smile, thank god he didn't call me Isabella. "Yeah, that's me." I say, my tone as chipper as it could be when around a vampire.

"Okay, just one second." he says cheerily before looking down at a sheet. "Ah, okay." his smile grows a little. "I've got you down here as an 'A' for all aspects of science, correct?" I nod. "Good, well I've got you next to the next highest in the class, his name's Edward Cullen, he'll be your lab partner for the year." THE YEAR!? "You'll be sitting on the right hand row of desks, third one back, seat on the left." he finishes.

I smile, it's a big ass fake smile. "Thanks, sir." I say politely before going over to my new seat. And of course, he's already sitting down, smug smile on his face.

"Good morning." he says as I sit next to him.

"Is it?" I question bitingly as I drag my chair as far away from him as I can.

I notice Jess and Mike are on the desk next to us.

"Do I stink or something?" Edward says loud enough that they and a couple of others hear, those that do laugh a little.

"More than you know, Cullen." I bite out harshly, I doubt anyone but him, Jess and Mike heard though. He sniggers a little before opening his work book and pulling a pen from his pocket.

He starts writing the title in an elegant script before he stops and looks at me. "Yes." he says.

"What?" I question as I open my own work book and pull my own pen from my pocket.

"It is a good morning, at least, until you saw me you thought that it was, you've had a god morning, no?" he adds. How does he know?

I try to ignore him as I writ the date and the title of 'The Human Body' but his words get under my skin _'you've had a good morning, no?'_ how would he know if I was having a good morning? Also, have I had a good morning? After all, Jacob didn't seem to look at me the way an imprint should. He certainly didn't look at me the way River and Matt look at each other. But they can be a little sickening at times.

"Don't think too much of it." Edward says softly. What's he on about? The whole 'good-morning' thing, well it's not as if he's on about Jacob, after all, how would he even know!

I huff out an annoyed breath before finishing the title and putting my pen down.

"Alright, class!" the teacher exclaims, he's a happy man, I like him. "Today we have a new student, her name is Bella. Be nice to her." he says still cheery. I give a small wave to the group of students that turn to me like I'm an experiment.

"Okay, so today we're learning about the human body, and since it's sunny out I though that we could go out studying on the sports field, we'll get the fastest and the strongest of our students and have them compete-" is this even fucking science anymore? It sounds more like The Hunger Games. "-and we'll use them to study muscles, sounds fun right!" there's a mix of groans and yips of joy from the class, I make no noise.

"Alright!" he says happily as he opens he door. "Those of you who have your spots kit go get changed." he says. That includes me, I opted for sport as something to specialise in, so I've got it every day.

"How you gonna do in the sun, Tinkerbell?" I ask Edward with a smirk.

"I'm gonna do fine, you need a leash, Fido?" he replies. I smile a little.

"Nah, I'm good." I say. How's he gonna handle the sparkling?

I watch as Edward rips a piece of paper from his work book and scribbles something on it. When he passes it to me across the desk it read _'My family sorted the sparkling thing out, we don't sparkle all the time.'_ oh joy, so I can expect to see him on the sunniest of days.

I give him a short nod before following the rest of the class out of the door and towards everyone's lockers. Edward follows me to my locker. "Can I help you with something?" I ask curtly as I unlock my locker and grab my bag.

His smile grows. "I'm sure that there's lots that you can help me with, but at the moment, I think we can settle for being partners in this, after all we're more or less a fair test, especially compared to the others." he says matter-of-factly.

"Fine." I say. "But I have one condition."

He raises an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"You don't touch me, no matter what we're supposed to be doing I don't want you dead little old man fingers anywhere on me, got it?" I reply.

"Got it." he says with an amused smirk.

With a huff I walk off towards the changing rooms. I catch up to Angela and Jess on the way. "Hey." Jess says as she notices me.

"Oh, Bella, hi!" Angela adds.

"Hey guys." I say with a smile.

"So, I saw you talking to Edward." Jess says with a smirk.

"Yeah." I reply. What's she getting at?

"He doesn't talk to anyone." she says. "But you come in and he's all smiles and laughter and shit. You two got something g-"

"No!" I snap mortified. "God no." I add. "I mean, he's ignorant, and he's- Eugh! No."

"Really? I think he's hot." Jess says with a shrug.

"So, Phoenix, you're getting cosy with Cullen." a male voice says behind me. Mike. He and Jess want each other so bad, it's yucky.

Jess back hands his bicep lightly as he pushes his way between me and her. "Apparently she's not." she says to him.

"No?" he asks.

"No." I clarify.

"Good." Mike says. Eric joins us with a smile. "The dude creeps me out."

"Who, Edward?" Eric asks.

"Yeah." I say.

"Huh," he replies. "You guys seemed pretty close."

"No, there is no closeness between me and Edward." I say while we walk.

Eric and Mike split away from us to go to the boys changing rooms, while we go towards the girls.

Angela and Jess get changed in the corner next to me, when we're all in out shorts and shirts we walk out and onto the fields of the outdoor sports facilities.

Outside the boys are all standing, watching as the girls exit, some of them whistle as the skinny girls walk past. I can feel their eyes as they take in my form, as some of them notice the scars on my lower legs, or the smaller ones that are dotted around my face. I don't exactly give a shit, but I think I would if it was Jacob... I almost feel bad for imprinting on him, he could do so much better than me. Maybe our imprint will be stricktly business, like, I'll just protect him? Maybe. Is it wrong that I hope that's not the case?

"Okay," the teacher -I have yet to learn his name- says, "We've got a class of thirty-two, so I'll have you in groups of fours please." his voice is still so fucking happy! "Mixed sex as well!" he snaps at the last second.

"See you, guys." I mumble as I walk over to where Edward stands alone. He's wearing red, baggy shorts and a tight fitting, black t-shirt.

We end up getting put in a group with two idiots, since there are more guys in our class than girls I'm stuck with stinky tinkie, and two jocks.

"Sir," jock one says. The teacher turns to him. "isn't this a little unfair, I mean, she's girl." he says as he motions to me.

"She got round the track faster than you yesterday." jock two reasons.

"Ugh, whatever." jock one mutters in annoyance. Edward smirks, probably at the fact that we're the two fastest out here, and this guy is being a jerk.

We end up starting with relay. Jock one is pretty slow and is sixth out of his eight runners. Jock two runs pretty well and gets to Edward at third. Edward doesn't sprint but sure as hell makes it look like he does while he runs to me at second. It's down to Jess and me.

She sprints off the second she gets handed her baton. Less than two seconds later Edward passes it to me. I'm off.

I don't sprint like Jess does, I jog, if I sprinted I'd be going at about forty miles per hour, maybe fifty if I pushed it. Just like Edward though I make it look like hard work. I catch up to her in less than a second. "Hey." I say with a smile.

"Hey." she pants out. Only seven eighths of a lap left to do.

Some random kid passes us, slowly speeding up. "Well, as lovely as our small exchange was, I'm dead set on winning." I say as I kick my legs a little quicker. She laughs knowing that she won't beat me.

"Go Bella!" she yells. She knows she's not gonna win, so she'll cheer me on, how lovely. "Woo! Go Bella!" she says again as I speed up even more.

I keep speeding up more and more until I'm at the front. I don't let up one bit, in fact, I keep getting faster and faster until I think I'll be going at wolf speed if I go any quicker.

The finish line is a hurdle, it's only a metre high, the rest of my little team is already waiting. Everyone's chanting their runners on, even the jocks.

I keep my pace the same, no one could catch up to me. I finish the race by jumping over the hurdle and skidding to a halt. I turn and pass the baton to the teacher with a smile. "That was incredible." he says still slightly awed.

"You almost let yourself go." Edward whispers just loud enough for me to hear. I turn to him and shrug.

I wander over to the little group that is made up of Angela, Mike and Eric and cheer with them for Jess. When she leap over the hurdle she's panting, she came second. "Nicely done." I say to her with a smile.

She nods. "Bella, I swear, you'd give Bolt a run for his money." she pants out.

We all smile and laugh with her, but it's true, I would.

You want to know a saddening thing? Well even if you don't I'm gonna tell you anyway… I've got double biology, so in twenty minutes when this period is over, after our fifteen minute break, I've got to sit by stinky tinkie for another hour.

We all watch as the last of the runners catch up and hop over the hurdle, most of them give me evils, but a couple come over and congratulate me, or tell me how well I was running.

For the last fifteen minutes of that period the teacher says that we can all 'chill for a while' so I sit with Edward. I know, I could have sat with my new friends, but he's lonely, he's not all that bad (don't tell my pack I said that!) and everyone's safer when I'm closer to him.

"You know." he says as I lower myself to sit beside him. "Your friends think that we've got something going on." he adds with a half-smirk.

I shrug at him. "Good for them." I reply. "But we know that you couldn't pay me to be with your undead ass."

His smirk grows. "They want to know what you're saying that's making me smile."

"If only they knew." and I can hear them, I'm just choosing not to listen in on their conversation.

"If only." he says back to me with a chuckle. "So, why did you sit with me?" he asks, he seems genuinely curious this time.

I shrug again. "I'm honestly not sure, I know that I'm not attracted to you sexually in any way, in fact, I actually find you rather repulsive, so it's not that." I say. "I guess that I'm trying to figure you out." I add on truthfully.

He nods and processes my answer for a few seconds before smiling again. "Ouch... that stung." He jokes, smirking lightly. "How about we just talk then, ask each other questions that we have no choice but to answer." he suggests.

"Are you sure that you're a vampire and not a teenage girl at a slumber party?" I ask sarcastically.

He shrugs with a smirk. "I have moments where I'm not all that sure." he says. "So, I'll take that as a yes?"

"Yeah, sure, why not." I reply. I shift my position so that I'm facing him. "Okay, shoot." I say.

"Okay, how old are you?" he asks. I raise an eyebrow. "I know that your kind can look older than they are, I'm just wondering." he says.

I nod. "I'm sixteen." I tell him. "You?" I ask.

His smirk grows, he finds this amusing. "One hundred and eight." he says. "Am I the oldest vampire that you've met?" he questions.

"I don't normally ask." I tell him. He chuckles knowing that I mean I don't have time to ask before they're dead. "Who's the oldest vampire in your, uh, family?" I ask.

"Carlisle." he says without hesitation. "He's over three hundred." he adds. "Who's the oldest in your pack? Do you operate by age or is it a first come first serve kind of operation?" he asks.

"Skylar's the oldest, but I'm the alpha." I say slightly proudly. "Kyla's my beta, aside from that we don't really have much of an order." I tell him. "But I have been phasing the longest."

"How long?" he asks, his brow furrows a little and he leans closer to me, waiting for the answer.

"I was twelve when I phased, Skylar came next, then the others just a few months back." I say. "But Ashley only phased last month." I add on with a shrug. "So, who's the youngest of you guys?"

"Emmett, he's only just turned fifty a few years ago." he tells me with a smile.

Emmett. Which one's he? "Is he Cage-fighter?" I ask, only one of them could be called Cage-fighter, so it's obvious who I'm on about.

Edward laughs a little. "Yeah, that's Em." he says. "So, is your sister a werewolf too?" he asks.

I can't help it, I laugh, I full out laugh. "No!" I exclaim while still laughing. "Good god no!" just the thought of it! "Jenna, a werewolf, I think not!"

"No? Why's that such a stupid thought?"

"Because if you knew Jenna, then you'd know how clumsy she is, she can't walk in a straight line without tripping on the air!" I exclaim happily. We were both like that, but being a werewolf changed my coordination and my balance. "Okay, my turn, what's with the eyes?" I ask as I stop laughing. "Does it come with age?"

He smirks a little. "No, not age, it's our diet." he says, there's a proud edge to his voice. "We don't feed from humans." he says. "We only drink the blood of animals."

"Animals?" I ask in amazement.

He nods. "Like Bambi?" I ask, he chuckles and nods.

My face morphs into a disgusted snarl. "You monster!" I exclaim playfully.

He chuckles. "I think you're more of a monster than I am, you're a werewolf!"

"Do you know Nosferatu?" I blurt out before I can stop myself.

He raises an eyebrow in my direction, I just shrug. "Do I, the hundred and eight year old, know the fictional vampire who was said to have died hundreds of years ago? I can honestly say that no, I don't." he says with a chuckle.

I wonder what Jacob's doing right now? Where did that come from?

Edward's smirk falls a little. "You okay there, Tinkerbell?" I ask.

"Sure am, Fido." he says, his smirk comes right back.

"Cool, so how do you combat the sparkles?" I ask trying to get back to our game.

"Magic." he says with a shrug as if it was obvious, but then winks at me, letting me know it's all bullshit. "Some say that you can get a witch to do it, but we're yet to see if witches are actually real."

"Come on, class!" the teacher yells as the bell rings. End of period one.

I stand up, not waiting for Edward, and walk off towards where Jess and Angela are standing by the doors waiting for me.

"Hey." I say as I reach them.

The two of them smirk at me a little before Jess says. "So, you and Eddie?"

"No!" I snap. "Not me and Eddie." I reply.

We're all silent as we get changed back into our normal clothes. "You ready?" Jess asks us both.

I nod while Angela says. "Sure, let's go." and so we walk out of the changing rooms.

I start listening to the crowds around me. One conversation grabs my interest. "Jeez, have you seen the new girl?" one girl asks.

"Ugh, I know, she's so ugly!" another one says. I lift my gaze slightly to see them a few metres from my locker, they're in a group of five.

They all nod and giggle. "Have you seen those scars though? They made me feel sick!" a third one says.

"I know." the first one says. "And she's all over my Edward."

"Yeah, she's such a slut!" one of the two others that hadn't already spoken says. "She's been here for one day and I bet she already trying to sleep with him."

The main one snorts an undignified grunt. "Yeah, hey! Here she comes now, what do you say I knock her on her ass?" she says excitedly.

I smirk, knowing that I'm stronger than she is.

As they get closer I notice Mike and Eric joining us. "Hey, Phoenix." Mike says grabbing my attention for a second too long. That's all it takes for bitch number one to ram her shoulders into mine and knock me off balance and send me to the ground.

Me having the mega battle reflexes that I do, I do that awesome karate throwing you legs in the air as well as your body and landing on the feet thing.

"Oops, sorry." she says sarcastically.

"Maybe you should watch where you're going!" I snarl through clenched teeth.

A few people around us take in sharp breaths. I'm guessing that most don't mess with this girl. "Maybe you shouldn't be getting your ugly face in my way!" she snaps back.

"Maybe you should come up with some better comebacks!"

"Maybe I don't want to waste my good comebacks on peasants like you!"

"Maybe you should back the fuck off before I smack your head clean off you shoulders." I say monotonously.

She stops walking away from me and starts walking back.

I square my shoulders and take a step too. "Bella, walk away." Jess says under her breath.

"Listen, new girl." she says. "I'm gonna give you a chance to walk away." she adds. I notice the Cullen's a few feet away in the crowd of people that have gathered. "If you walk away then I won't have to add another scar to your already sickeningly overcrowded body." she hisses lowly.

I chuckle before taking one final step towards her. "You really are just another dumbass bitch aren't you?" I ask. There's a snapping sound as her fist connects with my face. My head doesn't move an inch, it didn't even hurt. "Really?" I ask. "You want to play that game?"

With lightning speed I bring my hand up and thump my palm into her shoulder. I only use human strength, but she still stumbles. Before I can try again he's there. Tinkerbell stands in front of my with a frown on his face. "Fighting on your second day?" he asks.

"No." I say simply. "Fighting inferes that there is an equal chance for either side to win, this is more of a public humiliation for the pompous bitch who saunters around like she owns the place." I add with a shrug.

"Did you just call me a bitch?" she yells from the other side of Edward.

"Out of my way, Tinkerbell!" I hiss under my breath.

He shakes his head. "You know I won't do that." he says with a slight tint of regret to his tone.

"No, it's okay Edward. Let me show your little slut that I rule this place." she says.

And that does it! Me, his bitch? I think not!

"Listen up you incredibly dumb, little piece of a pathetic excuse for a human life, I am no one's bitch. Not his, not yours, no one's. I'm not gonna follow you, I'm not gonna kiss your ass like you're the fucking queen, and I'm certainly not gonna bow down to you." I hiss out venomously. "So you can pull you head out of you ass, and if you want me to kick your head out of your ass then come over here."

I step around Edward and stand my ground. I'm a werewolf, I'm territorial, this is mutual ground, not hers.

She takes a step towards me, right before she says something the school bell chimes. "I guess you've been saved by the bell." she hisses.

"I think it's you that's been saved by the bell." I mutter under my breath as I walk back to Angela, Jess, Mike and Eric while we head back to biology.

"Well." Mike says. "That was intense." he adds with a breathy chuckle.

I smile and nod. "Yeah, something tell me we're not gonna get along too well." I reply with a shrug.

"I can tell." Jess says.

We all laugh a little until we get to class.

"Bella?" the teacher said as I try to walk to my desk. "You too Edward."

"Me, Mr. Banner?" Edward asks. Well, at least I know his name now.

"Yeah, the two of you, over here." he replies.

Reluctantly, the two of us walk to the front of the room to where Mr. Banner stands with a large smile on his face. "Don't worry, neither of you are in trouble, I just noticed outside how well you both ran, your stamina, speed, agility and attitude to the activity was incredible. Now, since we're studying the human body and the muscles, I was wondering if you two would be able to help me with a practical?" he asks us both.

"Of course, Sir." we both reply.

He smiles. "Good, good." he says and claps his hands together. "Now, if you both go and get changed, by the time you get back I'll have you both a sheet of activities printed out, you just tick the boxes that you're comfortable doing and we'll get going, alright?"

"Yeah." I reply. He looks to Edward.

"Of course, Sir." he replies with a soft smile.

"Alright then, off you both go, be as quick as you can." Mr. Banner chirps happily with another clap of his hands.

With fake smiles on both our faces, Edward and I leave the room and go our separate ways to our lockers. When I get to mine I grab my bag and jog to the changing rooms. Thankfully, there's no sports this period, so it's empty.

I take my time getting changed, and with my index finger, I trace all of the scars quickly on my arms and legs, do they make me ugly?

With a shake of my head I pull my blue sports shirt that has 'PHOENIX' and '2' on the back -Jenna's got 'PHOENIX' and '1' on hers, we joke that it's because she was born first, then I was out- over my head and my black shorts on, I put my deep blue sneakers on and stuff my clothes into my bag before jogging back onto the corridors.

"Hey there." comes the voice of one Tinkerbell.

"Hey, Tink." I reply as I close the door to the changing rooms.

"That was a pretty dumb move before you know." he says.

"She was being a dumb bitch."

"Then be better, prove to her that you're better by just laughing and walking off." he snaps suddenly and storms off towards the biology lab.

I watch as he disappears into the classroom before releasing a sigh and following him.

I feel so out of place as I take the sheet of paper off Mr. Banner and sitting down in my sports kit next to Edward. I block everyone else out and pull a pen from my pocket. With just one glance at the list I know that I can probably do everything on there. But I read through the activities anyway. It reads like so with a tick box by each thing:

"_Handstands,_

_Pull-ups,_

_Sit-ups_

_High-jump,_

_Front flip,_

_Back flip,_

_Jumping,_

_Running,_

_Hurdles,_

_Agility courses,_

_Other activities will be listed at the time, all will be optional."_

I look at Edward's sheet. He hasn't ticked anything. "I'll tick them all if you do." he whispers as Mr. Banner talks about having two live models and some other random crap.

"Deal." I whisper back, and so we do both tick them all and walk over to Mr. Banner. At the same time we hand them to him, I watch and chuckle lightly as his eyes widen at the sight of every box ticked.

"Well, thank you both." he says. "Guys!" he snaps to get the class's attention. As everyone turns to look at the three of us he speaks again. "In an orderly manner, could everybody please move towards the sports hall!" he says happily. "And quietly!" he snaps at the last second.

I wait while the class -including Edward- files slowly from the classroom before going after Jess, Angela, Mike and Eric. "Hi, guys." I say.

"Hey!" they all reply cheerily.

"Bella," Jess says, I turn to her as we walk. "what is it that you're actually doing? Mr. Banner just said that he'd gotten two models." she asks me.

"Uh, some running and gym and shit." I reply with a shrug. "What are you guys all doing?" I ask. "Will you all be watching? Or will it be one of those things where no one watches?"

"Well, Edward will have every girl including myself watching him, and I'm pretty sure that you're got practically all of the guys drooling over you already, so everyone will be watching." she replies happily with a smirk.

I nod, that's okay I guess. We walk the rest of the way in silence until we're at the sports hall, they join the rest of the class while I join Mr. Banner and Edward at the front. I pretend to listen as he explains to everyone else what Edward and I are doing, but honestly, he could be saying 'So, we have a vampire and werewolf here who are very hungry, now I'm going to watch you run as they try to eat you… happy hunger games.'

"Bella." Edward whispers just loud enough for me to hear.

"Yeah?" I whisper back.

"We're gonna start by doing the handstands when he says go." he tells me.

"Thanks, I was totally out of it." I reply truthfully.

He snickers a little. "I could tell." he says.

"Okay!" Mr. Banner says. We both look at him. "Ready, my models?" he asks. The two of us nod. "Okay, handstands, in three… two… one… go!"

I tuck the tiny bit of the front and back of my shirt into my shorts and see Edward do the same. At the exact same time we both throw ourselves forwards onto our hands and push up into handstand positions. I cross my ankles to hold my legs straight and together.

"Now, you can both stop at anytime, but do try to stay for as long as you can." Sir says. "Now, class, everyone take a good look at the two, both are very well muscled teens and have incredible physique, no touching, just go up and have a look." he adds.

Without another order the entire class crowd round Edward and I. "So." Jess says. "What would happen if I prodded your foot?" she asks me, I can practically hear the wicked smirk on her face.

"You wouldn't." I say.

"I would." she whispers before taking another step towards me.

Using my hands I stumble away from her but stay in a handstand. She and the rest of my friends laugh for a couple of seconds.

Given that both Edward and I are supernatural beings, we could stay like this for probably more than this period, and Sir seems to sense that we're not gonna fall and tells us to get back to a standing position.

We both do so quietly and do everything else that we're told to until the end of the lesson.

The rest of the day passes without a hitch, so much so that I make it through the whole school day! I'm not sure why, but even when I ended up brushing accidentally past Alice in the hallways I didn't feel the need to phase. I've been more comfortable around the entire family since Edward mentioned that they're not human drinkers.

Anyhow, by the end of my last lesson I was completely chilled. The bell rang two minutes ago, the teacher -Mrs. Sprig, my new art teacher- was just getting us all to pack our stuff away.

Once I'm left with just my bag I stand. The bitch from earlier was in this lesson, she's been giving me evils for the whole hour.

Without so much as another thought for her I grab my bag and leave the classroom and enter the sea of people in the corridors.

"Hey, Bella." Angela says as she catches up to me and walks alongside me.

"Hi." I reply with a smile.

"You mind if I take your number?" she asks me. "It's only that when the sun actually comes out, so do we, we were all just thinking that you could come with us?"

I nod with a smile. "Yeah, sure." I reply. She hands me her phone and I hand her mine. I type my name, number and e-mail into the correct boxes before handing the phone back and waiting patiently while she adds Mike's, Eric's and Jess'. when she hands it back with a smile, she tells me that she's gotta run. "Alright, bye Ange!" I yell after her.

When I finally get outside I spot my truck. I also spot six werewolves in the back. The second they see me they start jumping up and down yelling "Bella!" or "Bells!" over and over. They keep going until I wave in reply.

My smile slowly begins to fade as I see _her_, the bitch from earlier, Jess told me in one of the lessons after lunch today that her name's Lauren and that she's a total bitch. She's headed towards my truck, her mini bitches trailing close behind her. She's got her eyes locked on Matt.

I speed up a little and end up jogging over to the truck, getting there a few seconds after her. She's nose to nose with River.

"Listen." River says monotonously. "He's not interested!" she hisses.

Lauren smirks and says "Why don't we let him reply, I mean, unless he can't speak!" she exclaims happily, she really thinks he's gonna skip over to her and go out with her. What she doesn't know is that although he can speak, he won't. "Well, he's not exactly hopping over here to tell me to back off." she smirks.

"That's because you're a whore and he has taste." I say as I finally reach them. "You're repulsing him so badly that he thinks that if he opens his mouth he'll puke, so back the fuck up, he's taken!" I hiss as I fish my key from my pocket.

"Fuck off, peasant!" she snaps. "As if he'd go out with you!" she exclaims earning a few giggles. "Once he gets a peek of all those scars he'll think that world war three took place right on top of you!" and again her friends giggle and snicker.

"I can give you a matching set if you'd like!" Skylar bites venomously.

Kyla immediately starts shoving her sister into the bed of the truck.

I smirk and unlock my truck. "Come on, lets go." I say as I usher the guys into the truck. With a defiant smile over my shoulder I open the door and hop in beside Ashley.

"You okay?" she asks me.

I nod. "Yeah, she's just being a whore." I say in reply.

As I turn the key I see Lauren and her friends waddling off. "She's just as retarded as that fucking dumbass father of hers." she spits out at one of her friends.

Without a second thought I speed forwards towards her and skid to a halt. Before any single member of my pack can stop me, I jump out of my truck, grab her shoulder, force her into a random car door and force my arm into her throat. Her friends are instantly trying to pull me away, but to no avail. "Some one help!" one of them snaps.

I don't go as far as to strangle her, but I keep my arm as strong as steel. "Listen to me." I say to her as I look her in the eyes. "Are you listening?"

She nods furiously. "Yes!" she gasps. "Please let me go!"

"Okay, now that I have your attention." I say with a sadistic smirk. "You say whatever the fuck you want about me, but the second you insult my father, you put yourself in danger. I swear to god that if my sister ever comes to this school I will break you like a twig and bury you so deep in the forest that you'll be dead before your screams are heard, that's only if you talk to her, if you don't then you'll be okay." I hiss quietly, so quietly that only she hears. "Understand?" I whisper calmly.

Before I or she can say anything else I'm yanked backwards. Matt and Marcus hold my arms behind my back as the bitch's sluts yell at me and coo over their slag queen. Marcus lets go of me and hops in the truck. Matt still holds both my arms as he shoves me roughly into the driver's seat. He slams my door shut and bangs it twice. That means go. And so I do. I put my foot down before he can even get in.

He runs after us before jumping in before I pull out of the parking lot and seats himself firmly in between River and Kyla.

"The fuck, Bella?" Skylar asks as we drive towards my house.

I don't reply. That's never happened before. I've never blown my cool. But it wasn't my fault, that bitch was ripping on Charlie. No one gets away with taking the piss out of my family. No one.

When I park up, Charlie's cruiser's already outside, I can smell Jacob and Billy from here in the truck. I hop out and start towards the door, I'm yanked back by a firm hand before I can get a metre from my truck. Just like I had done to Lauren, I'm forced by my shoulder into my truck, the second my back hit's the metal there's an arm holding me still by the neck. "Answer me!" Skylar hisses.

I make no move to shove her away, I merely stay silent.

"What the fuck happened back there?" she snaps rather loudly. The noise attracts the attention of Charlie, Billy and Jacob from inside the house.

The rest of my pack just stand and watch, unsure of what to do. "My dad's chief of police, don't start this here." I caution her.

She growls in my face before reluctantly letting go of me and taking a step away from me. "We'll talk later." she hisses.

I smirk and raise an eyebrow. "What if I don't want to talk?" I ask cockily. I don't know why I'm being like this.

"Bells?" Charlie's voice comes from the now open door. "Everything alright?"

I look over to him with a smile on my face. "Yeah, all fine and dandy." I reply.

He nods, I can see the uncertainty in his eyes. "Good, 'cause I invited your friends over for dinner tonight with Jake and Billy." he says.

"Cool." I reply. "I'll cook, unless you guys want a take-out?" I ask.

There are a few murmurs of 'Cook!' and a couple of 'Don't care' so I decide to cook, it'll keep the guys at bay for a little longer. "Hey, Billy, Jacob." I say as the seven of us follow Charlie back into the house.

"Afternoon, Bella." Billy says with a good natured smile on his face.

"Hi, Bells." Jacob says, the way he speaks makes me feel like my stomach's trying to eat it's self.

Well, this is going to be an interesting dinner.

**So, how'd it go?**

**Was that alright? Anyway, I'm conflicted as to whether I write the dinner or just miss it out? I think it could be the perfect opportunity for the pack to figure out the imprint, for Bella to get embarrassed, and for secrets to come tumbling out. Hmm… ugh! I don't know!**

**Anyhow, I really hope that you're still reading and waiting for the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, here we are, we're at chapter five already! I know it doesn't seem like much, but to me it is. So, I'm hoping that no one is confused so far, if you are then I'm sorry and here's a brief summary:**

**Bella is a shape shifter -like Jacob, except he hasn't phased yet- and she is also one of two twins, Bella moved to Forks but her twin -Jenna- did not. Bella has befriended Jess, Eric, Angela, Mike and somehow the Cullens, well they're not really friends yet (The Cullens) but since revealing that they're not human drinkers, Bella feels at ease around them. Bella's friends from Phoenix (made up by me) have come to eradicate (since they're Bella's pack that she is the alpha of) the Cullen's, but haven't and have decided to stay for a while. Bella has imprinted on Jacob but told no one. And there's a bitch at her school called Lauren.**

**One final thought, this is a **_**WARNING**_** that later in this chapter there are some jokes that some people may find offensive, I'm sorry if you do, but my friend insisted that they were in here, so I'm apologising now in hopes that I won't lose any of you as my readers.**

**~*Chapter 5*~**

**Bella*~**

Okay, so right now, I'm in my kitchen cutting chicken into strips to make chicken tikka, I know that the pack like it, and the others assured me that it would perfect.

"Need any help?" comes a soft voice from behind me. I heard him coming, but for a human he walks pretty quietly. I pretend to startle and spin round. "Whoa!" he says with a grin and catches my elbows to hold me steady. My skin burns and tingles where he's touching me. "Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you." he says, his smile growing larger as his eyes rest on where our skin meets.

Jacob.

I smile back and nod. "Yeah, thanks, that'd be great." I reply as I grin up at him. "Uh, you know how to cook rice?" I ask him.

He smirks down at me. How stupid of me! Of course he knows how to cook rice, everyone can cook rice! "Nope, I'm useless." he replies. Oh, I guess not everyone can then. "Show me?" he asks quietly. He puts on an adorable pout.

"Sure." I reply with a nod and a smile. "Just let me grab the rice." I say. It takes everything I've got to rip my eyes away from him and pull my arm from his gentle hold. I take a deep, calming breath as I walk across the kitchen, away from Jacob and towards the cupboard containing the rice.

I open the cupboard and grab the enormous bag of white rice. Rice in hand I walk back over to where Jacob is still standing, now with an enormous pan in his hands. "Big enough?" he asks. Me being the hormonal teenager that I am, my eyes widen slightly and flit down to his crotch. Either he doesn't notice, or he doesn't care, but either way he says nothing about it.

"Yeah, perfect." I reply with a slightly shy smile.

And so, for the next half an hour, Jacob and I prepare dinner together. He questions why I'm cooking for about twenty people, I merely tell him that my friends eat more than a pack of wolves, it earns me a few snorts from them all in the other room.

When we're done the ten of us head outside. River and Matt seem intrigued by the stories that Billy tells, the others seem to enjoy roughly play fighting on my lawn, while Jacob, Charlie and I seem to just wander slightly.

Jacob and Charlie naturally gravitate back towards Billy, while I find myself sitting between Skylar and Kyla, lucky me. "He's cute." Skylar says with a grin.

"Who?" I ask as I fake idiocy.

She and Kyla nudge me in the ribs at the same time causing me to snort and squirm. "You know who!" Kyla says happily, she nudges me again.

I can't help the smile that overtakes my face. "Ew, Voldemort's gross!" I joke before blushing and becoming really interested in a blade of grass. "Yeah, he is." I reply.

"So?" Kyla asks expectantly. Skylar turns to look at me too with a massive grin.

I look back, confused, what are they on about? "So, what?" I ask.

The two of them roll their eyes at me as if I'm being stupid. "How long?" Skylar questions. What?

"How long what?" I reply, utterly confused.

"How long have you known?" Kyla answers as if I'm an idiot.

"Known what?" I ask through gritted teeth. Why can't they get to the point?

Skylar huffs out a big breath. "How long have you known that you imprinted on your childhood sweetheart!" she all but yells. I note that Matt chokes on the water that he's drinking, and in the process falls off his chair.

Everything and everyone freezes around us. "Bitch." I mutter under my breath.

She winces a little. "Sorry, didn't mean to be that loud." she says.

"I'm gonna go check the food." I announce awkwardly before standing up and jogging over to the house. "Shit!" I hiss under my breath as I forcefully slam the door closed behind me. I haven't even managed to get my own head around the fact that I've imprinted on Jacob yet, and now Skylar's said it, even the humans heard! What do I do? Do I try to pass it off as an inside joke? Do I come clean? Do I come up with some shitty cover story?

Without even thinking, I grab the metal lid on the rice pan. It sizzles loudly against my skin, instinctively I drop it, only I don't really drop it, I end up flinging it through an open window. "Fuck!" I scream as I shoot my hands into my hair. What the fuck is wrong with me?

At my cry, Jacob is by me in a second. "Jesus, Bella!" he exclaims as he takes my hands softly. He leads me over to the sink and starts the cold water. "This is what you do for burns, right?" he asks me. I shrug. I bet he thinks I'm a freak now.

Wait, back in Phoenix, if this had happened I probably would have sprinted for the woods before bursting out of my skin, why don't I want to do that? Why don't I feel the need to? Oh… It's Jacob. "Sorry." I mutter.

He chuckles lightly. "Why?" he asks softly.

"This was going to be a lovely meal, and now I've ruined it." I huff out in a childish tone.

He seems to mull it over in his head a little before smiling brightly and reaching into our medicine cabinet for some bandages. "You say you've ruined it." he says as he pulls the roll of bandage from it's packaging. It's then that I see the horrible bubbling skin covering my entire left hand and half of my right hand. "But," he says catching my attention again. "I think that you've just made it a little more exciting by adding some drama." he tells me sweetly.

He gently turns me so I'm facing the sink and pushes me towards it softly with him behind me. As he takes my hands in his own my breathing hitches. "I'm a little miffed that my chance is gone though." he whispers, he says it so quietly that I'm sure that I wasn't meant to hear it.

He turns the tap on and holds our hands under the cool stream of water. "It's not gone." I whisper back. I feel his chest tense behind me. "If anything, they're higher than before." I murmur and lean back lightly against his chest.

"I like that thought." he mutters and presses his lips briefly to the back of my head. And despite the searing pain in my hands, the prying eyes of everyone outside, and my lack of confidence when it comes to relationships, I smile.

"Me too." I reply.

Jacob pulls our hands out of the water and carefully pats my hands with a towel before using the bandages and wrapping them neatly in the dressing. I know that they'll be healed by morning, but until then they'll sting. "They okay?" he asks me softly. "Too tight? Too loose?"

"Perfect." I answer honestly.

Someone clears their throat from the door. I turn my head to see Matt with a smirk on his face. "I'll uh, go tell everyone to come and get sat down?" Jacob asks me, blushing slightly. I nod with a smile on my face. Quietly, Jacob slips past Matt and back outside.

Matt clears his throat before putting on an agonisingly high voice that I presume is an imitation of me. "Ooh, Jacob, can I touch your hair?" he squeaks out. "How are you so sweet!" he starts laughing. "I think you're beautiful!" I keep a straight face. "Ooh, Jacob! Kiss my hands better? Only your love-"

"Shut it, Thorn!" I warn him with a slight smile. He holds his hands up silently in mock defeat as everyone starts piling in. "Sit down, dummy!" I hiss in a joking tone. He salutes me and walks with River to the table.

"Hey, Bells." Charlie says softly as he walks to me. He leans down and kisses my forehead. "Come on, I'll help you dish out." he tells me. I smile up at him gratefully. Together, Charlie and I get the masses of food onto plates. It doesn't take long, but it proves challenging for me to carry them with bandaged hands. Charlie chuckles a little before shooing me away, saying that he'll do it.

So, when I walk into the dining room, I see Matt signing things to Billy that he laughs at. I didn't know Billy could sign. Anyway, and that the only two chairs are either side of Jacob, but one is next to Skylar, the other is next to Billy. Well, I'll let Charlie sit by Billy.

With a fake smile the size of fucking Jupiter, I sit between Skylar and Jacob, both smile at me, Jacob smiles sweetly, Skylar… not so sweetly. "Adorable." she mutters so quietly that I only just catch it. The faces of all of my pack have smirks sitting proud. "Anyone have any good jokes?" Skylar asks, this time she speaks loud enough for everyone to hear. We all just kind of looked at her funny. "What?" she asks, befuddled. "Fine, I'll start." she says with a happy grin.

"No!" Kyla snaps across the table. We all turn to look at her. "Your jokes are sick, no one wants to hear them." she says just as Charlie enters the room and sits down.

Marcus's hand shoots up slightly. "I want to hear them." he says with a small smile.

"Thanks, Doctor Gaylord." she says, thankfully the last bit is under her breath.

He snickers. "No problem." he replies.

"No one with more than two brain cells wants to hear them." Kyla mutters.

Skylar smirks at her sister before dramatically clearing her throat. "Why did Mary fall off the swing?" she asks with a smirk.

"I don't know." Kyla mutters with fake enthusiasm. "Why did Mary fall off the swing?" she asks.

"Because she had no arms!" Skylar exclaims. I cringe. She makes some really sick jokes sometimes. Billy chuckles lightly, that spurs Skylar on to say. "Knock, knock."

"Who's there?" Marcus asks, a smile tugging at his lips.

Skylar smiles brightly, hardly containing her laughter. "Not Mary!" she exclaims.

And so, that's how the evening plays out. We get a couple more, for example. "Why did little Tommy drop his ice cream?" Marcus asks.

"Hmm, I don't know." Skylar says, though she obviously does. "Why did little Tommy drop his ice cream?" she asks Marcus.

"He got hit by a bus!" the two of them laugh together, Billy and Charlie also seem to laugh at a few of the jokes, though the one that really cracked Billy up was when Marcus said "Why can't Tyrannosaurus's clap?" he waited a few seconds before saying. "Cos they're all dead!"

While we're eating, I manage to get my bandages off under the table. They were getting uncomfortable.

When we're all done, I stand to take everyone's plates. "Bells, sit down." Charlie says with a smile. "You can't lift plates with burns on your hands."

I sit back down with a huff, I hate not being useful. So, instead, Jacob starts getting them all with a smile. "Give 'em a good rinse too, Jake." Billy yells.

"Will do!" Jacob shouts back.

Billy wait's a few seconds before he begins speaking. "Bella, I'm just gonna get straight to the point." he says. "I know what the seven of you are."

"Uh, okay?" I reply. What does he mean? That we're werewolves, or that we're teenagers?

"I've known for a while now, but I need you to do something for me. You can't hurt the Cullens." he says.

I'm a little taken back, I must say. "Uh, okay?" I repeat.

"Bella, don't play dumb with me!" he hisses. "Not long from now, we're expecting Jake to show signs of phasing, I need you to keep an eye on him. We've already got three wolves on the rez who can watch him at school, but I need someone outside of school, can you do that for me, Bella?" he asks me.

"Yeah, sure." I reply quietly.

"Wait!" Charlie exclaims. "How long have you known, old man?" he asks Billy with a smirk.

"A long while." he replies with a chuckle.

"If it helps." Skylar says. "We might have to tell him sooner than you think."

Everyone's head snaps up to see her. "Why?" Billy asks.

Skylar looks over to me. "Yeah, B, why might we have to tell him?" she replies with a smirk.

I snarl at her, just loud enough that she can hear. "Bella?" Charlie says, asking me to say more.

"No reason!" I hiss, looking directly at Skylar.

Matt snorts before signing something. "True." River says with a nod. I raise an eyebrow. "Lies." she says simply. We all look at her oddly. "Oh, sorry, Matt said 'lies!' as in you're telling them." she explains with a happy little smile.

"So, Bells, do share." Kyla sings happily.

"Nope." I reply under my breath.

"Wrong answer." Charlie says. I groan as he looks at me expectantly. "Tell me what they're on about, Bella." Damn it!

"Okay, damn it! Fine! Yesterday, when I showed Billy and Jacob to the spare room, I collapsed on the couch. Jacob came back out and carried me up to my bed, I'm pretty sure that while he was walking and taking I might have imprinted on him." I grumble out. "Happy now?" I mumble.

Billy an Charlie nod. "Perfectly, but when will you tell him?" Billy asks me with a small smile.

Doesn't he realise that it's not that simple?

"When I can wrap my own head around it." I grumble as I slam my face onto the table.

"Have fun with that." Skylar says, I can practically hear the grin on her face. "Well, we'd best be getting off." she claps her hands as she stands.

I pick my head up from the table and raise an eyebrow. "We wouldn't want to intrude on Bella's old walking habits, do you still do that Bells? You know, when you used to walk to clear your head?" Shit! She knows that Charlie won't let me out alone as the sun's going down. In fact, I think his exact words were 'A rapist could be just as strong as you! There could be a murderous, raping werewolf!' so I stopped walking alone to set his mind at ease.

"Nope, not anymore." I reply.

"Jacob used to love walking about the place." Billy says with a sad sigh. "I don't want him out on his own though anymore, never know who's lurking in those woods." Well, they're not stronger than me, and if they try and hurt Jacob, I'll rip their spine out through their ass, then I'll feed it to them.

"Maybe that's why you're a little more jittery now, Bells?" Charlie suggests. I just shrug and watch as Jacob comes back in with water splodges on his shirt.

With a few final farewells, my pack slowly migrates out of my house and towards the woods, on her way out, Skylar tells me that they'll have a twenty-four hour patrol going on in shifts, if I hear a howl, then I'll go to help, "You've got the midnight 'til six with Ash if you can take it." she adds on, I just smile and nod.

"So, since the two of you seem to need someone to walk with…" Billy says and trails off, looking to Charlie for help.

"Yeah, so why not pop off on a nice, long walk?" he suggests to Jacob and I. "Billy and I have things we need to discuss, so, off you go!" I'm beginning to wonder if these two are a secret gay couple. "Be back for nine, don't split up!" Charlie chants as he pushes us both towards the door.

Billy's smile grows as he wheels himself to the door. "Stay safe! Bella! Don't forget to tell him!" he yells, the second his voice has stopped, he slams the door. I can hear the two of them chuckling happily away together.

Jacob laughs freely with a smile on his face, while I scowl towards the house. "What's their deal?" I ask him.

He laughs and starts walking away from the house. He turns and beckons for me to follow him, I do without question. "It's kind of embarrassing," he tells me with a grin, as we walk side by side.

"Oh?" I question with a smirk.

He blushes slightly, it's adorable. "I'll tell you, if you tell me what my dad was on about." he says after a second. As we're walking, his hand seems to find mine, I gasp when his own grips mine softly. "Sorry, I can let go if-"

"No!" I almost yell. "I mean, it's nice." I tell him, now it's my turn to blush.

Should I tell him? Would he run off screaming? "Okay." I say. Wait! What!?

"Okay, what?" Jacob asks me, a smile still present.

I can't believe I'm doing this! "I'll tell you what your dad was on about, if you tell me whatever you were on about." I say quickly. "But you have to go first." I add on.

He raises an eyebrow, is it wrong to say that it's a sexy look? "Now, why do I have to go first?" he asks me as we near the entrance of the woods.

"Because, if you don't then I won't tell you!" I say in a childish manor.

He huffs out a long breath before speaking. "Okay, but can we get further away first?" he asks me with an adorable smile. I nod, unsure of what else to do.

Carefully, Jacob leads me through the forest. I smile at all of the different shades of green and brown that litter the woods. We walk in silence, every so often my smile will grow as Jacob rubs the back of my hand with his thumb, or as out interlocked fingers hit mine or his leg.

The crunching of the leaves under out feet is a welcome sound, as it's not too loud, but it provides some form of sound.

"You want to stop here?" he asks me softly as we reach a large clearing. I nod with a small smile, but don't speak.

Thankfully, the ground isn't muddy as we sit down on the lush, green grass. "Okay, before I tell you this, you've got to promise me something." Jacob says, his voice is a mixture between humorous and the most serious I've ever seen him.

"Okay?" I reply, slightly confused.

He releases a breath. "You can't laugh at me or run away." he says simply from his spot beside me on my right.

With a smile, I lean back against the ground until I'm lying flat against the grass. "Deal, as long as you don't either when it's my turn." I reply. Something tells me his secret isn't as bad as mine. He nods, it's a deal.

A long, shaky breath falls from Jacob's lips as he lays down beside me. I turn my head to face him, to see his stunning brown eyes already locked onto my own. There's a look in his eyes, something different that I haven't seen before in him, I think it's fear. What does sweet, innocent Jacob have to fear?

I give my best reassuring smile as he opens his mouth to speak. "Our dads, they're uh- oh god, how do I- well, they're trying to- ugh! You're gonna think I'm a freak!" he screws his eyes shut and shoves his hands into his hair, groaning in frustration.

"Jacob?" I whisper. Straight away, his head's off the ground, his eyes are open, his palms are on the ground, and he's facing me.

"Yeah?" he replies. "What's wrong? Sorry, am I freaking you out?" he asks me before looking down, he looks… ashamed?

"Nope, I just want to know what you're trying to say." I tell him softly, with a smile.

He nods before lowering his head back to the ground. "I, well, I uh-"

"Spit it out." I say playfully.

He chuckles a little. "I like you." he blurts out. "I really like you, a lot. I know I haven't seen you for so long, but every year I lived for the visits that you'd pay us. I used to mark days off on my calendar until it said your name, I hated when you'd leave." he whispers.

I smile, but he's looking straight up. "Jacob." I whisper.

"No, one min, I swear I'm almost done!" he says, but he still doesn't look at me. "Our dads are trying to set us up. I understand if you don't like me, or if you do, but like a friend, and I don't want us to be awkward because you know I like you. When guys say 'we can still be friends' they don't usually mean it, but I do. I can be anything, anything you want me to be. All you have to do is-"

Before he can utter another word, I roll onto my side. With my left hand I gently cup Jacob's right cheek, with my right, I flatten my palm against the ground. Gently, but quickly, I pull Jacob's face towards my own.

I guess I'll never know what it is I have to do, because as our lips meet, I don't care. Nothing else in the entire world matters, we could be surrounded by leaches for all I know! I release a sigh through my nose and run my fingers gently through Jacob's silky hair.

Jacob's entire body stills. Have I crossed a line? I quickly pull away. My first kiss with anyone since I kissed Jacob when I was eight, and I've screwed it up! "I'm sorry!" I blurt. "I just thought that since-" this time, it's Jacob that interrupts me.

His large frame crashes against my small one, and gently pushes me onto my back. Jacob hovers above me as his lips collide with mine.

I groan and push my hands into his hair. A deep, yet soft and quiet noise, almost a growl works it's way through Jacob's chest and into my mouth.

One of his knees works it's way between my thighs as I pull him as close as I possibly can via his hair. My eyes close of their own accord as out lips begin to move together in unison. But, all too quickly, Jacob pulls away from my lips for air. I forgot that I can go longer than humans without breathing… oops!

With grins plastered on both our faces, we untangle our limbs from each other, and Jacob rolls back to my side, on his back.

This, this moment, right here, right now. I wish that I could live this moment, every second, of every day of my life. I smile to myself.

I seriously can't believe it, this has to be too good to be true. There has to be something that has gone w- I don't even need to finish the thought, a promise is a promise, and I told Jacob that if he told me his, then I'd tell him mine. "Okay, your turn." Jacob whispers as if reading my mind. I can practically hear his smile.

I nod. "Yeah, I don't know where to even start." I say softly.

My smile is gone, and soon, my Jacob will be gone. He'll leave me. He'll run. I'll be here. I'll be alone. No one will search for me. Everyone will be better off without me. All I need to do is get it over with. Get through the heartache to release everyone, set them all free.

"Start wherever you want." Jacob whispers encouragingly. "You can't scare me off, not now." Oh Jacob, if only you knew.

Just do it! "A long time ago, there was a spirit warrior, his name was Taha Aki, he was a great warrior, so great that his story is still told today." I start. This is as good a place as any, right? "I know that you know these stories like the back of your hand, so I'll be quick. Taha Aki's third wife was a normal woman, well, normal to the extent that she was human. Some of the things though that made her different, that made her special, even, was her courage, her loyalty, and her fearlessness." I continue.

Jacob, thankfully, listens and stays perfectly quiet. "One day, when their home was threatened, the spirit warriors of their town took the forms of wolves. These beasts were made for a single purpose, that purpose being to dispose of vampires. They were fast, strong, smart, and connected, they fought as a pack." I speak as if I'm confident, but I'm shitting myself.

"Taha Aki was fighting a losing battle, one he was sure not to win, however, he couldn't back down against the female cold one. After vigorous fighting, the vampire managed to get both of her hands into the jaw of the beast, one pulling at either side." I keep my eyes glued onto the sky as I speak. I can feel Jacob's eyes burning a hole in the side of my head. "Taha Aki's wife was no spirit warrior, but she did something that was stronger than any brutal attack the warrior could have thrown at the cold one."

I can tell that Jacob wants to know where I'm going with this, but I'll get there in my own good time. "She forced a blade into her own stomach, the blade was that of her fallen son. The cold one, suddenly aware of the fresh food source dripping from the woman's abdomen, let go of Taha Aki and looked straight to his wife. He had just enough time to destroy it." I release a shaky breath.

"Sadly, Taha Aki's wife did not make it. For three days, Taha Aki lay beside his wife's body, whenever someone would come to try and touch her, he'd growl at them. After that, he left into the woods, he never returned." I conclude.

"Bella?" Jacob whispers. I look over to him. He reaches out with his thumb and wipes tears from my cheeks that I didn't even know were there. "You know, if you're obsessed with our tribe's legends, it's nothing to be so ashamed about that you have to cry." he jokes lightly. "Don't worry, they're only stories." he mutters as he tries to pull me into a hug.

I launch myself to my feet. "They're not just stories though." I whisper. I take a step back from Jacob.

With a thoughtful frown, Jacob stands and tries to reach out to me, I move further away from him. "Bells, what's wrong?" he asks.

"I'll prove it to you." I tell him. He raises an eyebrow. "Come on." I say, before he can reply I turn and walk deeper into the woods.

I don't stop walking until we're so far into the woods that I know we'll be alone. Jacob apologises when he walks into my back as I stop dead. With lightning speed, I spin round to face Jacob. "Close your eyes." I whisper softly. He looks at me sceptically, but does as I ask. Seriously! I can't believe I'm doing this. "Keep them closed until I nudge you, okay?"

"Sure, sure." he says with a small smile. He won't be smiling in a minute.

With a shake of my head, I take a couple of quiet steps away from Jacob. Quickly, but silently, I rid myself of my clothes and place them in a neat pile on the floor a few feet away from Jacob. Before I have time to think, I phase. I phase right where I'm standing. The second my paws his the ground, I block my mind off from anyone else that's phased. This is a private moment and I don't want those idiots in my head, not now.

Okay, there's no turning back now.

So, with the very tip of my nose, I lean forwards and nudge Jacob's hand. Before his eyes open, I take a large step backwards.

His eyes flit open, their look of joy immediately replaced with panic. With a startled cry, Jacob turns to try and run but ends up tripping on his own shoe. The very second he hits the floor, he rolls over onto his back, sits up and scurries hurriedly backwards into a tree stump.

I watch him intently as his eyes flit from my paws, to my head, to other parts of me or the forest. In order to look a little less menacing and to lower Jacob's speeding heart rate, I lie down slowly on my stomach and let my tongue loll out of the side of my wide open mouth.

For an entire fifteen minutes, Jacob doesn't move. Not a single inch. His breathing calms down, and his wide eyes relax some.

Finally, he moves a little. Slowly, ever so slowly, he stands. Just as slowly as him, I rise to my feet. "B-B-Bella?" he stutters out. I pull my tongue back in and nod happily. I'm pretty sure the only reason he hasn't run off is that he knows I'd be able to catch him. He clears his throat before taking a cautious step towards me. "Bells?" he says. Again, I nod.

To try and show that I'm not going to hurt him, I sit back on my hind legs and let them go out to one side. "That's really you?" he whispers. I smile -as best I can as a wolf- and nod again. He lets out a humourless chuckle before taking another step towards me, then another, then another, until he's arms length away from me.

Even when I'm phased, Jacob's still taller than me, the very tips of my ears reach the top of his nose.

"You're Bella?" he asks me in disbelief. I roll my eyes exaggeratedly before nodding slowly again. "It's really you?" again, I nod. "Wow!" he breathes out as he stares at me in awe. "Do you mind if I -um, well- can I, uh, touch you?" he asks me. A blush covers his face and neck, no doubt as he realises the double meaning of his words. I smirk, but nod my head all the same.

He reaches out with his right hand until it brushes against my cheek.

Before I can utter what's happening, Jacob launches himself at me. His arms are thrown around my neck, his face is buried in my shoulder, and his entire front is pressed against my own. "I thought you were gonna tell me that your favourite hobby is mugging old women, or punching baby pandas!" he exclaims into my fur. I let a loud wolfish laugh out and wrap my front left paw round his back before crushing him against me as gently as possible.

When we gently pull apart, Jacob's grinning like an idiot, so am I, but you'd never know.

Now all I've got to do is explain imprinting, oh the joys.

Ten minutes later, after much jumbled groans and yips from me, Jacob finally realises that since my clothes are on the floor, when I phase back I'll be naked. And thankfully, he goes round a tree and tells me to tell him when I'm done.

I quickly stop blocking my mind from anyone who's phased. Skylar and Marcus are play fighting about ten miles from here, the both freeze the second they feel my mind. _**"Bells?"**_ Skylar yips. As quickly as my mind will allow, I flash a quick memory of me kissing Jacob, then of him hugging my wolf form. _**"Holy shit! Be-"**_ before she can finish, I phase back with a massive grin on my face.

Still grinning like an idiot, I walk over to my clothes and get dressed.

"Okay." I say. Moments later, Jacob comes back from around the tree.

_THUD!_

_THUD!_

_THUD!_

The thumping of massive feet, they're coming? Why are the- what's that smell? Vamp!

I can hear them, my pack, coming from all directions. Jacob. I have to get Jacob safe.

Two seconds later, Ashley skids through the bushes yanking her shirt the rest of the way down her. "Bella, there's five." she says hurriedly. She looks straight over to Jacob. "Just get him back, he's the only human within fifteen miles of here." I nod and walk over to a very worried looking Jacob.

"Jacob, it's not only the spirit warriors that are real." I tell him quickly. "The cold one's are too, and I need to get you out of here so they can't hurt you."

"Bells!" Ashley snaps. "They're fast, faster than Skylar, you won't make it back." Thing is, my hearing has never been as good as most in the pack, so she can probably hear them, I can't though. "Marcus is chasing them, the others are on their way here." she tells me. I get a warm rush of pride as I realise how well my pack works under attack.

Jacob, to his credit, doesn't seem to be panicking, he just looks confused. "What?" he asks. "What's happening?"

"I'll explain everything later, but for now, you've got to keep as silent as you can, please." I tell him. He nods when he sees that I'm worried. About three seconds later, Matt and River skid to a halt about three metres away from us, they're breathing heavily and Matt's got a bloody front right paw. Jacob jumps back in surprise when they seem to suddenly just appear. "They won't hurt you." I whisper to him. He nods, but still looks like he's shitting himself.

I straighten up as best I can. "Hold these?" I say to Jacob as I take all of the stuff out of my pockets, it's stuff like my cell and my keys. He takes them carefully and slips them in his pocket.

"Ten seconds…" Ash mutters.

"Matt, River, go meet them head on." I say. On my command, the two shoot off into the woods. "Ash, stay with Jacob, try and walk him back to my place." she nods and walks over to him.

"Nine…" she mutters. She puts a hand on Jacob's shoulder and leads him gently away.

He stops. "Wait, what about Bella, where's she going?" he asks her. He turns round quickly, just in time to see me burst into my wolf form and shoot off like a dart into the forest. It physically hurts to leave him at a time like this, but I've got to help.

"_**Three males, two females."**_ Skylar says into the pack mind. I watch as she pushes herself to try and catch up to them.

"_**I've got a visual!"**_ River barks.

Matt nods mentally. _**"Me too, take them head on, Bella?"**_

"_**Yeah, hit them with everything we've got!"**_ I snap as I push myself to fall in line with them both.

Running straight towards us are two wiry females, one with grey hair, on with brown, both have… grey eyes? Behind them, three males are running. Every so often, they'll shove trees down in order to slow Skylar down.

"_**I'll jump in and scatter them, when they break apart, yank one alone from the group and kill it!"**_ I order. My legs move just a little bit faster, and finally, I launch myself into the air and grab the elderly female. I twist my body sideways as I fall, pulling her down with me into the others.

"Mariana!" one of the large males yells.

Skylar and Kyla bound straight in and each yank a vamp out. Marcus jumps in to help Kyla while Matt and River get in there too.

I rip my teeth through the vamp's shoulder before sinking them straight back in; it lets out a blood curdling scream before it's hand shoots up and grabs at my muzzle. The nails on it dig straight into me, only shallow wounds, but they hurt none the less. She begins punching my face and neck in an attempt to get me to let go, I make my grip even firmer. When it realises that it's getting nowhere, it lunges out wildly. One of it's arms catches my front left leg, the pain and a loud crunch send me to the ground.

I cry out in agony, letting go of the vamp. It's foot hurtles into my side, breaking at least three ribs and throwing me into the air, crashing into a tree. Skylar and Marcus's heads snap up and they leave to help me.

Kyla gets punched in the face. The now three free vamps team up and beat on River and Matt until they release their hold on the last two. The five of them sprint off into the woods, towards my Jacob.

I know for a fact that I've got a broken front leg, no doubt about it, I hold it against my chest before leaping to my feet, and to the amazement of my pack, sprinting off. A loud, menacing bark works its way though my chest and out of my mouth as I near Jacob and Ashley.

Ash spins round at my warning and phases on the spot. She forces Jacob into a tree stump with her hide and starts growling and snarling at the oncoming attackers.

I push forwards with all I've got until I'm seriously going as quickly as I can on three legs.

The only thing that startles me is that they just sprint straight past both Ash and Jacob, they just keep running.

"_**I'm gonna get Jacob back to my place in case they come back."**_ I say into the pack mind. Everyone either nods or just agrees with me. Skylar tells me to get to the hospital for my arm. Ash adds on that she can handle the twelve 'til six without me, I thank her with a grin.

The six of them run off into the woods, leaving me with an extremely scared looking Jacob.

He quickly shrugs off his coat and holds it out to me. I raise an eyebrow. "You can't walk around like that." he tells me. "And I saw you shred your clothes." he adds on with a small smile. How is he taking this so well?

I phase back, and for a second, I just stand. Jacob, being the perfect gentleman, doesn't let his eyes stray, they lock onto mine before he closes them softly. "Thanks." I whisper as I take his coat and wrap it around myself. I zip it all the way up around myself, being careful with my left arm, Jacob hears though as I wince and his eye burst open.

"Are you okay?" he asks me gently and reaches out to caress my cheek. Wow, he really is perfect.

I nod with a smile. "Yeah, I'm great." I reply. "You?" I ask him. I take a small step closer to him and run my fingers over a tiny scrape just under his left eye.

He nods. "Fine." he says with a smile like mine. "Come on, let's get you back home." he says. He throws an arm round my shoulders and pulls me close.

We walk in relative silence for about ten miles, only five left to go. "So, I guess your secret was a little bit bigger than mine." Jacob says with an amused smirk.

"Yeah, well, if it helps, yours made my day." I reply with a shrug. "But-" shit! What am I doing!? "-I kind of have one more." I say. Oops, shit's coming out. He squeezes my shoulders slightly in an encouraging manor. "Do you know about imprinting?" I ask him. Oh for the mother of god! Why am I doing this!

"You mean from the legends?" he asks me, now intrigued.

I nod. "Yeah, just that, actually." I reply.

"Well, I know that it's something to do with the spirit warriors, and it's a pretty big deal." he says thoughtfully. "But that's as much as I know."

I take a deep breath before speaking. "Basically, imprinting is like a piece of string. It's possible to cut the string, but why would you want to. The string is tied around two people, one being a spirit warrior, the other being his or her imprint. An imprint is like an anchor to a boat. It's a tiger's tooth, a phone's battery, a drummer's sticks, a guitarist's strings, a piano's keys." Where am I going with this?

Oh, now I remember. "If a wolf finds their imprint, they can't stand so much as a day without seeing them. They feel viciously protective over them. They love them so much that the thought of someone hurting them, well, it hurts you. You feel their discomfort, their joy, their sorrow. An imprint is a wolf's only true love, the one that are to grow old with, marry, have kids." I think I might have overdone it, just a little.

Jacob nods, processing the information. "Okay, so, uh, have you- um, you know?" he asks me. I raise my eyebrow in question. "Have you imprinted on anyone?" he whispers and looks down at the floor as we walk.

"Yes." I say simply.

Jacob nods. "Is he a good guy?" he asks me.

"The best." I tell him.

"Does he know?" he asks me. Has he not figured it out?

"I don't know, I think he's confused." I reply truthfully.

"When are you going to tell him?"

"I thought I had."

Silence.

"Do I know him?"

"Better than you might think."

"What does he look like?"

"I guess he looks like you." I say with a grin.

"So he's from the rez?"

"Yeah."

"What's his name?"

"Jacob."

"Huh?"

"His name, it's Jacob."

"But, Bella, I'm the only J-"

"Maybe it's you then, dummy!" I snap playfully.

"Me?"

"Yeah." I reply, blushing. "You don't have to be with me though. The wolf would let you go, if that's what you wanted." I tell him. "The imprinter only becomes what you want from that person, so if you wanted a best friend, then that's what I'd be. So yeah, the wolf wouldn't get too hung up over it, I guess." I add, rambling nervously.

"Only the wolf?"

"Huh?"

"Would you?" I freeze.

"No, I'd be happy for you when you were happy, but I wouldn't move on. I wouldn't go all stalker on you, but I wouldn't back down easily." I tell him with an indifferent shrug.

He seems to mull it over in his head for a second. "Good." he tells me.

We walk the rest of the way in silence. When we get back, Charlie and Billy are wearing smirks, that is until they see my lack of clothes, and my oddly angled arm.

"I'm fine, honest. Just let me go up and get changed, then I'll be back." I say, before anyone can answer I run up the stairs and shut the door.

I shrug off Jacob's coat, grab some clothes, and get them all on quickly. My arm is pretty nasty looking, but it'll mend itself in a week or so, no biggie. You want to know what's the dumbest thing I've ever done? Well, I just poked my arm. "Fucking mother of shit faced cunt lickers!" I yell. All noise from downstairs stops. Oops, kind of loud.

With a shake of my head, I jog down the stairs to be met with five pairs of concerned eyes, two of them being yellow. "Uh, hi." I say politely.

"Hello, Bella." Carlisle says. "Your father called me, he told me that you'd broken your arm." he says with a smile.

I nod. "Yeah, but it's fine." I reply. God that sounded lame.

"It doesn't look fine." Alice says.

"Well, it is." I hiss.

Carlisle nods. "Well, do you mind if I just take a look?" he asks me.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'd rather you didn't."

"Bells." Charlie warns.

For fuck sake! "Sorry, of course you can." I mutter, but I'm not sorry, and I still don't want him touching me.

"And her ribs." Jacob says. Traitor!

Charlie looks straight at me. "What happened to your ribs?" he asks me. I swear I'm being ganged up on.

"I got kicked." I reply with a shrug. "No big deal."

"Do you think anything's broke?" Carlisle asks me, his voice now genuinely concerned.

Yep, three ribs, but your creepy dead old man fingers aren't gonna touch me! "Nothing that won't heal within the week." I tell him instead.

"Ashley said you'd broken at least three." Jacob tells him. Well, how the fuck did she know? She wasn't phased.

I frown. "Was she phasing in and out?" I ask Jacob.

"Uh-"

"She means did she become a wolf then a human over again." Billy explains with a smile.

Jacob blushes slightly at having to have things explained to him. "Oh, no." he says. "She just said that she could tell me what was happening if I wanted, so I said yeah."

"But she didn't change at all?" I ask. How is that even possible?

Jacob shook his head with a confused look. "Why? Is that not normal?" he asks, his eyes flitting around the room wildly.

"No." I reply. How could that even happen though?

Five minutes later, Billy decides that it doesn't matter as much as my broken bones, so I find myself with my shirt on the floor, and my finger tips touching the ceiling. Carlisle says he can see my ribs better when I stretch. I hiss out a strangled cry as I force my body to straighten, I can feel the random shards of bone moving at odd places where they shouldn't.

He ran his fucking freezing fingers over each one of my ribs and flinched every time I growled or hissed. Good, he's scared.

A few minutes later, he moves onto my arm, straight away telling me that he'll need to re-break that, and that he think my ribs need re-breaking. "Like hell." I hiss as I take a step away from him, further into the room.

"Bells-" Charlie starts, but snarl in his direction.

"No!" I snap. "If my bones need breaking, I'll do it." I manage to get out between violent shakes and growling at different people. "Not you!" I spit out towards Alice and Carlisle.

He raises his hands in defeat, and along with Charlie, Carlisle takes a step back. "You can set them while I'm phased, right?" I ask him. He nods. "Good, away we go then." I say. "Wait in the garden." I tell him before I stalk off back up into my room.

I can smell them, damn leech has his whole fucking family with him!

As quickly as I can, I get all of clothes off and phase in the middle of my room. With great difficulty, I manage to squeeze my way through all of the doors, down the stairs, and finally outside, where all of the Cullen's stand, with Billy, Charlie, and Jacob. Even in my wolf form, I shake as I realize that Jacob and the Cage-fighter are being friendly and speaking.

Charlie and Billy stiffen visibly when I come into view. They've never seen me like this before.

"_**Skylar, here, now!"**_ I order harshly into the pack mind. Instantly, she starts sprinting towards us asking all sorts of questions, all of which I choose to ignore as I guard my thoughts.

Within a minute, Skylar springs round the corner, snarling at the Cullen's instantly, I snap at her and she stops. _**"What's it you need, boss?" **_she asks me, still giving the Cullen's the stink eye.

"_**Sky, I need you to do me a favour."**_

"_**What sort of favour?"**_

"_**I need you to break my left ribcage and my left arm."**_

"_**You're real funny, Bells."**_ she says, she and the rest of the pack give awkward chuckles into the pack mind.

"_**Not joking, it's either you or Dr. Fang over there."**_ I tell her and the rest of the pack, monotonously.

She stares at me in disbelief for a second before saying, _**"Bells, that's too much to ask, I can't break your bones! That's insane!"**_ she snaps at me, bewildered.

"_**Do it."**_ I say simply.

"_**No!"**_ she hisses, standing her ground. _**"You're being stupid!"**_

"_**I don't have time for this, Sky!" **_I snarl at her. _**"You gonna help me or not?"**_

"_**No!"**_

"_**Fine!"**_

"_**Fine!"**_

"_**Ash, here, now!" **_ I command. _**"All pack members aside from Ashley, run into the woods and stay there until I tell you otherwise."**_ they all hiss out harsh breaths at the sudden chain of commands, but all do as I say, even Skylar.

Ash is quick to bound into my garden in her wolf form. _**"Get what clothes you need from my truck, then phase back and come next to me."**_ I tell her. She nods but says nothing as she trots off to my truck. I listen as her breathing changes to that of a human being. She walks back round the corner a few seconds later with a shy line across her face that is neither a smile nor a grimace. _**"You can understand what I'm saying?"**_ I ask her. She nods her head, unsure of what she's wanted for.

The Cullens all gasp lightly. I know they don't understand me, but the fact that we're communicating is probably damn cool. _**"Good, tell the Cage-fighter that I want his help."**_

"Wait, what?" she says, fear written across her face.

"_**If Skylar won't help me, then he will, I know he will."**_

"Bella, that's crazy!"

"_**Do it!"**_ I order. She winces, but complies.

He steps forward and waits for her to say what I want. _**"You say everything I do from now, okay?"**_

"Okay."

"_**I want him to come with me into the woods, and I want him to charge me."**_

"Bella says that she want you to go into the woods with her and charge her."

"_**I need my left arm and my left rib cage breaking."**_

"She needs you to break her left arm and her left ribcage." she forces out with a disgusted tone.

Cage-fighter looks up at me with a questioning look. I nod my head. "Sure." he says with a shrug. Esme and the humans around us gasp.

"_**Tell the doc to follow when I've stopped whining."**_

Ash recoils at my choice of words. "She says for the doc to follow when the whining has stopped."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Charlie says, stepping on front of me. "No one's breaking my little girl's bones!" he snaps, glaring at Cage-fighter.

"_**Let's go!"**_ I bark.

"She says, 'let's go'." Ash says.

Before Charlie can turn to stop me, I lift my front left leg into my rib cage to hold it and shoot off towards the woods. I can hear Cage-fighter sprinting to keep up with me. A shiver runs down my spine as Ash phases in and starts running behind us.

The rest of the Cullen's run noisily behind us, for vampires, they don't seem all that gracious.

I sprint as quickly as I can to a clearing, not the one that Jacob and I were in though. When I get there, I seem to be a minute ahead of the others, so I sit down right in the middle. _**"Ash, I'm gonna need you to speak for me, okay?"**_

"_**Of course."**_

"_**Thanks." **_ Fuck! What am I doing? I'm asking a vampire to hurt me.

Great, so I've gone from snarling at Carlisle to letting his son attack me.

When she and the Cullen's enter the clearing, I stand, I try to look as strong as I can, but that's kind of hard to do when you've been bust up by leeches.

Ash walks behind me with her clothes in her mouth and phases. She gets her clothes on before walking round to stand next to me. She smiles sweetly up at me, I nod down to her. _**"Tell the others that I don't want them here, it's not as if I can hut the male in my condition anyway, so I'd prefer it if they'd wait in the woods."**_

"Bella wants the rest of you to wait in the woods if it's okay." Ash says softly, as if speaking to psychos… oh yeah, they probably are. "She can't do anything to hurt him anyway, so you've got nothing to worry about."

"I thought Bella liked public humiliations." Edward says with a smirk.

"Of course." Dr. Fang says, ignoring Edward's comment.

I sit patiently as the Cullen's exit the clearing, until it's just Cage-fighter, Ash and I left. _**"You too, Ash."**_

"What! No way!" she says defiantly as se spins on her heel to face me. I roll my eyes at her.

"_**Tell him to go, then leave, the order of staying in the woods now applies to you, too."**_ I know my orders are harsh, but I don't want any of my pack to see this. I close my mind off completely to prove that I'm not messing around.

Ash's face is void of emotion, she's pissed that I'm shutting her out. She turns stiffly to Cage-fighter. "She says go." and that's all that she says before walking quickly to the woods, but not phasing, her own little act of defiance.

Cage-fighter looks up from the ground to me, but his face doesn't show a grin as I'd thought it would, but a grimace. "I sorry." he says simply. I shrug. "If you run at me too, then it'll break more, Carlisle will have longer to set it." he tells me. "I'm gonna get a run up."

He turns and shoots to the furthest point of the clearing. "On three!" he yells through the night air. I nod my head stiffly.

"One…" I bend my three usable legs.

"Two…" I pull myself as small as I can get, ready to bolt.

"Three!" at the same second, he and I both fire forwards like rockets.

He lowers his right shoulder as he nears, ready to smash into me. I throw my head back as I run, howling like a last battle cry before his marble like form crashes into me.

I feel everything as if it's in slow motion. His right shoulder forces into my own left one, smashing every bone there. Both of his forearms come up into my stomach as he passes me, they hit me so quickly that I'm forced into the air.

From the corner of my eye, I see Carlisle and Esme trying to run to stop their 'son', but the vamp Barbie and the constipated one hold them back. They know that he didn't break enough ribs, they probably heard each crack.

My vision blurs a little as I hurtle into the ground.

I force myself to my feet as he turns and starts coming back towards me.

When he collides with me again, I taste blood.

The third time, I feel the rest of my ribs go, right as I fall for the final time. Unable to stand, I lie panting out short, sharp, pain filled breaths.

"Carlisle!" Cage-fighter shouts, wiping my blood onto his pants. He shoots off into the woods with the rest of his family.

Carlisle and Esme run over to me the second their 'children' release them. "Bella, this is going to hurt a lot, I need you to try not to bite either of us, okay?" Carlisle says, his voice losing it's calm edge. I move my head as best I can in a nodding motion. He stands behind me and pushes one of his arms under my front right leg that I'm lying on. His wife, Esme, pushes both of her hands under my flank.

What surprises me the most, is when the rest of their 'family' come over. Alice puts her hands under my head. Cage-fighter gets his arms under my ribs, Barbie gets my front legs, and Edward gets my back ones. "On three." Alice says, I'm pretty sure that her voice cracks towards the end. They all nod around me. "One…" they all slip their arms a little tighter around me. "Two…" they all bend their knees, ready to lift me. "Three." and on three, they all stand slowly.

I clamp my jaw shut. Many whimpers and whines force their way through my lips as the Cullen family carry me through the woods. They all run at super natural speed. When they have to jerk me suddenly round a tree, my mouth shoots open, and a pain filled howl rips it's way through my body. "Run faster!" Edward screams.

I feel it as they all push themselves to the limit.

Esme takes my hind legs from Edward as he runs and yanks our French doors open at the back of the house. I hear Jacob, Billy and Charlie all stand -well, sit in Billy's case- and start asking him questions, he doesn't answer as he rushes back to take my legs.

Alice lays my head on Carlisle's shoulder as she runs before us into my house. I hear her tell Charlie that they'll personally replace anything that's broken. I'm rushed inside and placed on the now clean dining table.

"Esme, get my kit from the car." Carlisle commands, now in full on doctor mode. She's off before anyone can see her, and back within the same second, holding a medical kit. She rips it open and lays it beside my head.

My head and hind legs hang off the table, but all of the Cullen's, aside from Carlisle move away from me.

Jacob struggles against Charlie and Edward to get closer to me. He finally gives up and gets yanked into a seat beside Billy. Charlie sits next to them both, all three with tears in their eyes.

I'm aware of the pain as Carlisle tells me what's going on, and when a scalpel is forced into my skin… then snaps due to my skin being too hard. I'm aware that they sterilise a kitchen knife, then use that to cut me open. I'm aware of the freezing cold hands that go literally under my skin. I'm aware of it all, but I keep my eyes locked with Jacob's, and for some reason, that makes it less painful.

He walks over to me, no one stops him. And he pulls a chair up next to my head, he sits next to me, and he pulls my head to his chest. I close my eyes and push my nose into his neck as I whimper. "Jesus Christ!" he hisses as Carlisle literally forces his fingers under my ribs.

"Charlie, do you have a spare bed sheet that you're not too attached to?" Carlisle asks, ignoring everything else. Charlie nods, but doesn't move. "Alice." Carlisle says.

She stands from beside Billy where she'd been explaining what they're doing. "Yes?"

"Could you please find me a duvet cover, if you have to take it off a bed, then do so, we'll replace it anyway." he replies.

She nods before shooting off up the stairs. She's back literally within the second with a spare duvet sheet of mine, it's black and an old one. She hands it to him, and in his free hand he takes it, his other hand is still in my ribs. He wraps the covers over his arm before he gives one of my ribs a painfully sharp yank that involuntarily makes my eyes shoot open, my head shoots up and all of my legs shoot into the air as I try desperately to get away. I don't even think, I just panic.

My struggle knocks Jacob off his chair with a thud, and suddenly, I'm just a scared, lonely, little girl again, phased for the first time. Carlisle isn't Carlisle anymore, he looks like _him_, _he_ was the first vampire that I ever saw, _he_ was the reason that I phased. _He_ was the vampire that gave me so many scars.

I see Jacob's face, he's scared. He's scared of the vampires in the room, right?

Suddenly, I open my mind to the pack. _**"Help!"**_ I scream into it as I thrash wildly.

I'm aware of the freezing arms pinning me to the table. I'm aware that the table snaps and we all hurtle to the floor. _**"Guys, help!"**_

And then, they're all on their way.

"Carlisle, we need to go!" Edward yells over my snarling and growling.

_**He**_ looks up. "I can't." he says.

"_**Bells!"**_

"_**Bella!"**_

"_**Boss!"**_

"_**We're coming!"**_

"_**Hold tight!"**_

"_**Keep on fighting!"**_

"Knock her out!" Barbie snarls.

I turn as best I can and bite, but miss by a few inches.

"Charlie." Edward says, calmly. "Jacob." he adds. What's he up to? "Stand next to her, stroke her head, just try and calm her down." he says and nods in my direction. "She won't hurt either of you."

They both walk and stand next to me. Edward's knows he's right, because now I lie completely still, I can't risk hurting them. I feel so dizzy.

My head feels like it's made of stone. _**"Stand down."**_ I get through the pack mind, and in that last second, I see Jacob lurch towards me along with Edward, and I hear my pack say that they'll guard the house. And so, as I slip into darkness, I think nothing more of anything really. Nothing but Jacob runs through my mind.

**So, end of chapter five, you like?**

**I'll try and get six up as soon as possible, in the mean time, please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so as I'm unsure of when I'll post this, I'm gonna start putting the dates that I started the chapter on, so for example, this one is 14/6/2013.**

**Anyhow, on with chapter.**

**~*Chapter 6*~**

**Bella*~**

According to the doc, I was out for eight hours, I woke up at like seven AM.

Carlisle won't let me go to school for the rest of the week, I think that's due to the fact that I still haven't phased back and I growl at everyone aside from Jacob and my pack. Charlie has decided that maybe it's best for me to stay on the rez for a little while with Billy and Jacob so I've got enough room to stay in my wolf form, the two of them were happy enough with that idea.

So, right now, it's nine-fifty-three in the morning. We're just about to see if I can stand for long enough that I can get in the bed of my truck with Jacob, and Charlie can drive to the rez.

"_**Hey, Bells." **_Skylar says. _**"The others just went into town for some food, I'm coming round to help you guys." **_She tells me. I mentally nod, saying that it's okay.

Ten minutes later, she walks in through the front door with a smile, it dies a little when she sees me. I know she feels responsible because she didn't do it for me, but she shouldn't, I asked her to go way out of her comfort zone, and she stood her ground, it was the right thing for her to do. I give her my best wolfish smile, hoping to make her feel a little bit better, and she does smile a little. "Come on then, Ass-face." Skylar says to me, I snort out a slightly painful laugh.

I'm currently lying on my right side, stretched out across the dining room table, my entire front left side in bandages. "Lover boy, push her from behind and I'll hold her up straight while she walks." She says softly to Jacob. He nods, standing up to stretch. He didn't sleep at all apparently, he just stayed up and worried that I wasn't awake.

Jacob stands by the table behind me, and he pushes against my back. With my good side, I pull against the table using my claws. "Just keep that bum arm up, okay?" Skylar says to me. I nod as best I can, then I'm falling off the edge of the table, only I don't fall. Skylar puts her arms under my side, and although it's my bad side, I'm just thankful for the help.

"Door!" Skylar hisses at Jacob. I find myself growling at her, he's not her slave, he's my imprint!

Jacob just goes to the door, on his way past me though, when Skylar can't see, he runs his hand over my shoulder and ruffles the fur on the back of my neck, my growls all but stop instantly as I watch Jacob with a confused gaze. Then he's at the door, opening it for me and Skylar. "What if someone sees us?" Jacob asks. It's truly incredible how well he's adapted to this already.

"I can smell and hear the entire block, trust me, there's no one around to see this." Skylar replies with a smile as my growls stop.

A sound makes me freeze, all of my senses are all over the place at the moment, so I'm not sure how close the sound is, but to me it sounds pretty close. I stand still and tall, unmoving. "Come on, Bells." Jacob says encouragingly. "It's just Charlie getting my dad into the truck." He tells me, his soft smile coming into view.

Keeping my bad leg off the ground, and with Skylar's help, I hobble my way over to Jacob, grinning a big, wolfish grin when I get to him. He smiles back at me before he retreats through the door. "I'm gonna get the bed of the truck open!" Jacob says louder than he'd need to.

"You ready?" Skylar asks me, and somehow, I get her hidden meaning. She's asking if I'm ready to be with Jacob, if I'm ready to let him in, if I'm ready to not just be the alpha of a pack, but the imprint of someone who will phase into another pack and may someday be an alpha himself. She's asking not if I'm ready to get in the truck, but if I'm ready to give real life a go.

I nod at her with a small, nervous smile. "Good." She says, her voice then drops to a whisper. "Because he's super hot and I wish you both the best of luck." She tells me seriously. She helps me out of the front door and over to the truck. Jacob unlocks the back of my truck and pulls down the little lip on the very rear. He then stands a little out of the way, just between my truck and Charlie's cruiser.

Noise.

There's a noise, it's high, it's loud and it scares the shit out of me. I don't think as I snarl in the direction of the noise and as I forget about my pain, I use the length of my body to shove Jacob into the side of the cruiser, away from the noise.

My head thrashes wildly between Billy who sits calmly in his chair telling me and Jacob not to panic, and Charlie, who holds his ringing cell phone in one hand and the other is outstretched in my direction while he apologises over and over saying that it's just Jenna calling. Skylar walks in front of me and grabs my face between her hands, I snarl at her and snap a few times. I don't want to hurt anyone, but they all _need_ to get away from Jacob.

"Listen to me!" She hisses, tightening her grip on my face so I have no choice but to stay still. "Good, you listening?" She asks. I snarl, she's pissing me off. She nods. "None of us are here to hurt him, but if you don't move, then you will." She tells me. "He's got the body weight of a werewolf leaning on him, pushing him into a ton of metal. Just move, Bells." She says.

I move so quickly that my hind end forces my truck about a metre to the left.

Skylar nods at Charlie, he answers the phone. _"Hey, Dad!"_ Jenna yells into the phone. I feel my tail start wagging as I hear her voice for the first time in a few weeks.

"Hey, Jens, what's up?" He asks, a hint of a smile on his face.

"_Nothing much, but maybe you could take the phone off your face? I mean, all I can see is your stubble." _Jenna replies. Charlie moves the phone with a blush as he realises that he's on face time. _"Much better. So yeah, mom and I are in the car at the moment, with Phil, obviously. Say 'Hey!' guys!" _She yells in the car, Phil and my mother both greet Charlie and smile into the phone.

"Hi." Charlie says back with a smile as he waves at them back.

"_Oh yeah, we were calling because I decided to come stay with you and Bells!"_ Jenna says excitedly.

Charlie's smile grows, he's getting both of his little girls back. "Really, Jens?" He asks, astounded. She nods wildly into the camera.

"_Ooh, one min, mom wants the phone." _She says, waving to Charlie again. She puts the phone upright on the dash board so it's facing out mom as she drives.

She looks at it sceptically for a moment before moving it a little with a small smile. _"Hi."_ She says. Charlie nods his greeting. _"How is she?"_ She asks, her voice low and serious. _"We're all worried sick over here, Charlie."_ She tells him.

"The doc did a good job, she's still not changed back, but I think that's more out of choice than anything else. I would say you can speak to her, but she can't speak." He replies as he turns the phone to face where Skylar, Jacob and I stand, all still as stones.

I watch the screen as mom pulls the car over and they all get out, taking the phone with them. I bark at the screen, wagging my tale and hanging my tongue out of my mouth. _"Oh! My baby, are you okay?"_ mom screeches into the receiver. I nod even though I'm not, she worries way too easily. _"Well, we set off last night, so we'll be with you by half ten, okay, Bella?" _I can hear the sniffles coming, so I nod as happily as I can before waving my broken leg as best I can without wincing. _"Oh, okay, bye sweetie!" _She says through the few tears that are starting to fall. _"I'll talk to your dad some more, bye, bye!"_

Charlie turns his cell back round and I go about getting into the bed of the truck. It doesn't take too long, I just get my front end in by jumping a little, then I push off with my hind quarters and sort of log roll into the truck. The emergency bag is also in the bed, so I push it right into the corner, it's good to know that I've got spare clothes if I do phase back.

"I'm gonna go and devour the entire population of Forks' breakfast items, see you later." Skylar says as she pats my hind leg twice, she then starts jogging away, in the direction of the town.

Jacob helps Billy into the truck, putting his chair in the bed with me, then he hops in beside me and locks the little lip back up so neither of us or the chair will fall out while Charlie drives. I hear Charlie mention that if they want to see me, then they need to come to the Black residence as he starts my truck up. Jacob shuffles around a little until he's sitting right by my head.

I pick my head up and lay it in his lap, he smiles down at me and starts running his fingers through my fur and scratching my ears.

My eyes close of their own accord as Jacob's fingers softly -but not too softly- massage my head.

When we arrive at Jacob and Billy's house, Charlie pushes Billy straight inside, telling us to take our time. I take a good look at Jacob, he's wearing a short sleeved black shirt, dark blue, worn jeans, white sneakers with a few scuff marks on them. His hair's held up behind his head. His muscles are obvious beneath his shirt, I can feel the heat coming off him in waves, he feels as warm as me. If he was angrier, I'd think he was going to phase. But he's not angry, can Jacob Black even _be_ angry?

"Come on!" He says cheerily, breaking me out of my trance. He hops up onto his feet and jumps out of the side of my truck. With a grin on his face -as always- he goes round to the back of the truck and opens the lip on the end for me. I grin at him as I stand, ready to try and leap off the truck. My jump is retarded and I stumble a few steps, but Jacob pushes my front with all his might and manages to stop me from falling. I grin at him before I grab the bag out of the back and drop it by his feet.

Somehow, he understands and unzips it, pulling some clothes out for me. I take them in my mouth before limping quickly into the woodland area that's all around Jacob's and Billy's house. Jacob runs in after me, blushing and scratching the back of his neck nervously. "I'll close my eyes when you're naked, but I thought I could hold your clothes for you? You could lean on me if you like?" He suggests. I grin, turning my body to face him and rubbing my head on his chest. He chuckles a nervous chuckle. "I'll take that as yes." He says as I pull away. He holds his hand out, I place the clothes in it gently, careful not to catch him with my teeth.

I watch as he closes his eyes. The second they're screwed shut, I phase back. I stumble a little and use my good arm to grab Jacob's shoulder to steady myself. He reacts straight away and wraps one arm under me as I slip and the other finds my left hip, holding me softly, yet tight enough to stop me from falling.

My ribs hurt like hell, but I can't seem to bring myself to care as I stand, being held by Jacob. I also don't seem to care that I'm naked. Slowly, I stand upright, hissing as my ribs try to keep me hunched, but I know that they'll heal wrong if I sit or stand in the wrong position without all bandages and shit like that. So, I straighten up and peel Jacob's fingers from my hip and where they are on my back. "Sorry." He mumbles, embarrassed, as he takes a step back, holding my stuff out for me.

"Don't worry." I tell him softly as I take my underwear from his shaking hand. I know it's not cold, so it's nerves. Once I'm in my underwear I say: "You can open your eyes." with a small smile, he does. Not in perverted way, his eyes roam over my body, stopping on the thin scabbed over lines where Carlisle had to cut. He holds his hand out to me, I take my bright red skinny jeans first -but they're more like leggings I guess because they're really soft, not like jeans- and slip them on with minimal wincing. When I take my blue Superman t-shirt, I get my bad arm through first, then my good arm, then I sort of pull it over my head using just my good arm. Jacob grins at me and pulls the hem down for me. "Thanks." I say with a small grin of my own.

He's about to speak, when he suddenly face-palms himself. "I forgot your shoes." He says. "And your socks." He adds.

"It's okay." I tell him with a shrug. "I walk around without them all the- Ah! Jacob!" I squeal as he picks me up bridal style, not touching my bad side at all. With his massive, childish grin, he carries me over to the bed of my truck, where he places me down as if I'm a delicate glass object. He then jogs over to where the bag is still on the floor and comes back to me with it. He pulls out a pair of socks and throws them in the air, I catch them easily and struggle a little putting them on. Jacob grins as he pulls my blue Superman converse out of my bag.

"You really love Marvel and DC, huh?" He asks me with a chuckle.

I nod. "Well, duh! don't you?" I reply. He nods.

"Of course! I have a brain!" He exclaims, feigning hurt. He pushes my shoes on and starts doing them up before I can protest. He then begins rummaging through the bag until he finds my emergency kit -how does he know I have all this stuff- with all of my bandages in. "Now, Carlisle said that I have to bandage your arm and something else with your ribs, it might hurt, so that's why I've got to do it." He says as he softly takes my left arm in his right hand.

I hiss out a pain filled breath, but make no effort to move. Carlisle was right, just the same as when Edward used Jacob against me to still me last night. He starts by wrapping my pointer and middle finger together, then using the same strip of bandage, he goes round my hand a few times, then my wrist. Just when I think he's done, he grimaces and roughly yanks my arm. I cry out and use my good arm to punch my truck. He apologises over and over as he bandages up to my elbow. "It's fine." I get out with ragged breaths.

After a second, I lift my shirt so he can get to my ribs. Carefully, with a soft smile, Jacob wraps the new strip of bandage around my waist, he does it over and over until it's done. I lower my shirt over the newly bandaged area and let Jacob help me off the bed of the truck. He then pulls out a sling, unwraps it and hands it to me with a grin. I make a face at it, as if that will make it go away, but I put it on anyway.

Something in the corner of my eye catches my attention. I snap my head to look at the house, three tall, lean, well muscled boys come out of the house. I recognise them from the bonfire. All three of them are dressed like Matt and Marcus; only shorts, no shirt or shoes.

When they see me, they don't look at me as if I'm a monster, they probably don't know, they just carry on walking closer to us. Jacob follows my gaze with a confused expression, it then turns to something more than that, more confusion but something else too, fear? No, not fear, distaste. They make him uncomfortable.

Jacob and I walk in the general direction of the house, me on Jacob's right, them on my right. As they pass, I make a point of shoving the one closest to me with my shoulder, only, he does the same. He's just as strong as me, if not stronger. The force of his shove makes me slip, I curl up to protect my bad arm, but never hit the floor.

The guy I walked into is holding me up by my elbow. "Careful." He says in a cocky tone. "We wouldn't want you to get hurt, now would we?" his cocky smirk grows as he pulls me to stand straight up before releasing me. The three of them just carry on walking, what are they?

As soon as they're gone, Jacob grabs my hand and pulls it up so he can see it. "God!" He exclaims. "Are you okay?" He asks me. "What did he do? Are you hurt? Is he a vampire? How do you feel? Did he hurt you? What-"

"Jacob!" I say, loudly to stop him.

He blushes, "Sorry, I was just worried." He says, his voice nervous for my answer as he scratches at his neck.

"Seriously, it's fine." I tell him.

Nervously, I look over to Jacob's and Billy's house, I can see our dads through a window sitting on a brown leather couch, facing away from us. So, before I have chance to so much as think about it, I turn back to Jacob and push my good hand into his hair, pulling him to me. His tall frame towers over my own smaller one as he takes a step towards me until our bodies are touching.

I lean up with a grin and press our lips together. Our kiss lasts but a second, a soft, sweet second that I will be sure to treasure. As we part, I close my eyes and smile, my hand still wrapped in his thick, silky hair.

Jacob's mouth opens as he readies to say something, a howl ripples through the air, forcing us both to part. My head snaps in the direction of the woods where the howl came from, but instead of taking off like I would have usually done, I grab Jacob's arm and start pulling him towards the house. "Jacob, run!" I yell as a chorus of howls gets closer. My pack only howl this madly when they're fighting a lost cause.

The two of us take off sprinting, leaving my truck out on the grass. "Faster!" I scream as I hear feet thundering against the earth, my heartbeat picking up.

"Run!" yells another voice. I turn my head to see the Cullens running at vampire speed towards us. It was Alice that shouted. How is their timing so impeccable? Cage-fighter's at the door, opening it as Jacob and I stumble in.

"Bella?" Charlie's worried voice comes. He shoots out of his seat. "What's going on?" He asks, his voice rising.

My shaking starts as I realise that I can't help, if whatever's so important that the leeches are here too gets anywhere near the house, I can't phase and stay on my feet long enough to protect Jacob. No, if it comes to it, then I'll die trying. "Bella!" Charlie snaps.

"What!" I scream, my teeth elongating in my mouth, my nail growing into claws as the wolf pushes against me to phase. Charlie stumbles back a few steps.

"Bells…" He trails off with a puzzled expression. His eyes bore into my own, they're probably yellow by now.

My breathing becomes laboured as I fight the urge to phase and fight. I soon start pacing around the room, snarling when I walk into things. "Time?" I hiss, freezing for a second.

Billy turns round to look at a clock hung on the wall, I'd have checked if my vision wasn't blurring as my body tries to phase. "Ten forty-two." He tells me sadly, we all know that my mom was planning on being here as half past ten.

I bolt outside as my pack run into the massive clearing that Jacob's house is built on. Jacob follows me, worried. The Cullens come to stand next to us, along with three new wolves, on large black one -almost as big as Matt- and two grey ones. Ash is in her human form on Marcus's back. "We lost them." She says. "It was he ones from last night with the weird eyes." She tells me, her voice hard, not as a young girl's normally is.

"We've never seen anything like them." Edward adds. I nod, pushing my good hand through my hair.

"Okay, Sky, Marcus, go check for my family, the vamps might have changed course to find easier meals. Jenna's blood's always made them drool." I say, my 'alpha tone' kicking in. the two of them nod, and bolt off after Ash has slipped off Marcus's back. "Ash, stick close to me, if you're always connected then I need you here." I tell her, she nods, bowing her head submissively.

I walk over to the three new wolves, one of they grey ones looks particularly cocky. "You the three from before?" I ask them. They all smirk and nod. I shrug indifferently. "Cool, well by the way you hold yourselves, I'd say that you're not new additions to my pack." I say as I wave them off dismissively. They look almost disappointed as I don't tell them what to do.

"Matt, River, go do a run round the rez and just round town, if you get any strong scents then follow it a safe distance. don't get into any fights though, if they attack then you run as fast as you can back here." I tell the two of them. They nod and turn before sprinting off into the woodland area.

A defensive howl cries out through the air. I look over to Ash. "Marcus and Sky found your family, they're coming on their backs, ditched the car. They're asking where you are and what's going on, your sister's panicking." She tells me, her tone worried. I nod at her, giving her a soft smile.

Skylar and Marcus jog carefully back towards us all with Phil, my mom and Jenna, the three of them look ready to cry. All three of them are on Marcus's back. He lies down, the second his stomach touches the floor, they leap from his back and rush towards me.

Jenna crashes into me first. Despite the immense pain radiating from my ribs and arm, I throw my arm over her shoulders and pull her as close to me as possible. My mom and Phil soon join the group hug.

The Cullen's run off into the woods to join what I'm sure is now a fight.

I quickly pull away from the small family reunion and look towards the house. "Get inside." I tell them with a worried tone. "You too Jacob." I add.

"What?" He protests. "I want to help!" He exclaims.

I nod, understanding. "I know, Jacob, but I'll worry if you're out here with them." I tell him, I speak simply, not lying at all.

An hour later, we're all still standing in the exact same places, except my family and Jacob are inside. There has been no sign of the grey-eyes at all, so I call my pack to come back.

My pack and the three other wolves stand -along with myself- in the pouring rain, Ash telling me what everyone's saying, then me replying.

"The scent was all over your car." Ash says.

I nod. "So if they got that close, then why didn't they attack?" I wonder out loud. Skylar get a few wistful looks after she grumbles something.

"Sky thinks that maybe it's not your family, maybe they want you. They like playing with you, but until you're healed, they don't have a strong enough play toy." Ash says, wincing as she says that I'm their play toy. I nod, thinking. "Maybe she's right, Bells. I mean, you're the one that displayed the most power, you're our leader and you're the only one of us fast enough to keep up with them." She adds.

I nod. "Okay, well their scents got us nowhere, so let's just all relax, but keep an eye out." I say as I run my hand through my hair, frustrated.

Even though all of the guys inside are watching, my whole pack trots over to my truck and phases back, none of them fussed about nudity. The three other wolves give a kind of nod of the head, like a bow, and run off into the woods.

I can still feel my fangs as I turn and walk back towards the house, but my claws are gone, so it's okay.

As I swing the door to the house open, I get a whole houseful of eyes staring at me. "Well?" Jenna says as I don't speak.

"Well what?" I reply monotonously.

"Well, what happened?" She asks, a soft, sad smile on her face.

I shrug. "I don't know, they just seem to pop up everywhere." I reply.

My mom nods, "Okay, what are we gonna do about the cars though?" She asks. Car_s_? As in more than one car?

"Ah shit!" I hiss as I push the heel of my good hand into my eye socket.

"No cursing!" She scolds.

"Okay, okay!" I snap, the wolf still pushing at me to chase and find the vamps. "I'll walk you guys to your car, then you guys can do whatever it is that you do." I add.

"I'll come with you." Jacob volunteers with a smile. I smile shyly back. When he realises that everyone's looking at him with questioning eyes, he clears his throat and adds "You know, so you don't have to walk back on your own with all those crazy people out there." He blushes as he speaks, knowing that he was caught.

I nod, smiling.

"Why don't we all go out to lunch?" Billy suggests, his large, homely grin ever present on his face. "We'll let Charlie drive and we'll be there by lunch time." He says, a cheeky grin on his face.

"It's only twenty to twelve, inst lunch time like half past twelve?" Jenna replies softly.

I nod. "That's the point, dad drives slow." I tell her, smiling at Charlie.

"I drive by the limit." Charlie defends himself. "Unlike Bella, who drives like a maniac." He adds with a meaningful look. I smile and nod.

"Lunch it is then." Mom concludes. We all agree and nod our heads.

"And I'm buying." Billy says with a good natured chuckle. The adults give good natured banter as to who should pay, I get bored and go to wait outside. Jacob and Jenna follow me out.

I make a beeline for my truck and grab the bag, slinging it into the bed of the truck then unlocking the lip from when Jacob locked it earlier. I grab the key from where it rests on the driver's seat and throw it at Jenna, her retarded reflexes don't kick in until it bounces off her face. She catches it and gives me an odd look. "Get in it and drive back across to the house, I wanna talk to Jacob. We'll be in the woods." I explain. She nods, hopping into the truck before she closes the door and driving away.

"What's up?" He asks me, concern lacing his features.

I don't answer, I just walk past him and towards the woods, brushing my fingers across his stomach as I pass. He follows me without another question. The fact that he trusts me so easily despite what I am puts something odd in my stomach, like a flickering match, I can either let the flame build up to be unbearable, or I can extinguish it.

When I stop, I turn to face him. "Are you okay?" I ask him, worried that he's seen too much of this crazy world.

He nods with a smile. "Of course, are you?" He asks me, his soft voice prodding at the fire, letting it engulf a part of me.

I nod back at him. "Yeah, of course, yeah." I reply, lying a little. I don't know what I want, do I want to wait for him to kiss me -which may never happen- or do I kiss him -and risk looking way too forward?

"Good." He says, his voice squeaking a little. He quickly clears his throat, almost nervously. "So, um, I don't know if I'm completely out of line here, but do you mind if I kiss you?" He asks, sounding like I'm going to tell him to do one. He scratches the back of his neck, blushing madly. I smile at him, blushing just as badly. "I mean, I don't want to pressure you or anything!" He blurts out, putting his hands up as if to prove his point. "You know, I mean, I'd never _ever_ force myself on you in any way, not that I could. But even if I could, I wouldn't!" He exclaims, just making himself redder. "You know what." He says, embarrassed. "Just forget I spoke, please?" He asks me.

I nod. "Sure." I reply. "But I wouldn't, you know." I tell him. "I wouldn't have minded, but now I've forgotten that you ever spoke, so yeah." I say, teasingly with a shrug.

"Bella!" He groans, it prods at the fire… then throws a few logs and fire lighters right on in there. God he's so sexy!

"Jacob!" I groan back, a smile creeping its way onto my face. Jacob grins down at me, knowing that I want him to kiss me just as much as he wants to.

"We should probably be heading back." He says, smirking.

I shrug. "You're probably right." I say, smirking myself. Before he can say anything else, I put my right hand on his stone hard abs as I lean up and give him a peck on the lips. As I start to move away, he leans down and our lips fuse again. I sigh contently when we pull apart a few seconds later. "Come on, Black." I say, grinning from ear to ear.

He follows me -standing on my right so he can hold my hand- back out of the woods. As we walk, I notice everyone else outside, only Jenna is turned the right way to look at us. Her eyes lock straight onto our locked hands. For some reason, I find myself dropping Jacob's hand, when he look down at me, slightly hurt, I say "Jenna's seen, she'll tease me for a month." I tell him. "Also, I think my mom would have a heart attack." I add with a small smirk. He nods with a small smirk of his own.

I watch as Jenna say something excitedly to our mom, but don't listen to what it is.

"Come on, Swan." Jacob says, mockingly. "I'll race you there." He says excitedly with a massive Jacob grin. He was off before I could even reply. A second later, I start jogging, faster than a human, but slower than a werewolf.

I caught up to Jacob in a second and laughed as he pushed himself to go faster. Together, we reached everyone else with grins and slight giggles. My mom smiles as she sees us acting like real kids. "You hear that, Bells?" She asks me. I shake my head. "Okay, well you'll drive your truck with Billy up front." She tells me. "We'll sit in the back until you find our cars, so no crazy swerving, okay?" I mock salute as I walk over to my truck, Billy follows me and waits patiently while Jacob helps him into the passengers seat. Grinning, I hop in and turn the key that Jenna left in.

Billy and I sit while everyone clambers into the bed of the truck, Charlie then bangs on the cab twice. I reverse out into the woods and keep going until I find a little place that I turn round in. "Bella?" Billy says, concern lacing his voice.

"Yeah?" I reply, worried.

"Jacob didn't phase today." He says. "They were everywhere, why didn't he phase?" He asks me. This is the first time -and will probably be the last- that I've ever seen Billy seem clueless.

I smile softly at him. "Don't worry. Kyla had been around Skylar when she was fighting for over a year, she almost got bitten twice, but then it just happened. Maybe it's just not his time yet. Maybe he'll be the strongest of us all, and the spirits just don't need us to have that sort of power just yet." I tell him, and honestly, I think I sort of believe it. "Who knows, maybe he'll even be-"

"Bella!" Billy screams. His arm flies out to point in front of us.

I skid to a halt and almost scream as I see it. Lying in the middle of the road is Ash, she's in her wolf form. "Ash!" I yell. I jump straight out of the truck just in time for something as cold as stone to smash straight into it. I scream as I smell blood. I run straight over to her and grab at the scruff of her neck. My hand passes straight through her. She's like mist.

A throat is cleared behind me, I feel my stomach drop, something's terribly wrong.

As I turn on my heel, I see that my truck is overturned, everyone's out -somehow even Billy- and sitting, huddled together. All five of them… all but Jacob. I look around frantically for both Jacob and the thing that cleared its throat, I find neither.

"Looking for the two of us?" A voice asks. Before I can turn to find it, it's in front of my family. In one hand, it holds a knife, in the other, Jacob. "Your boyfriend was going to make a nice meal for us, only, his blood is tainted." The leech says. It's one of the ones from last night. I snarl and shake as he's joined by the rest of his family, I can't take them alone and they know it. "Now, you gave my dear Mariana quite a scare, so I decided that it's only fair that she gets a new toy, don't you think?" He says as he tosses Jacob carelessly -thankfully he's unconscious- to the leech that did this to me: Mariana. Her claws dig into his neck, his blood dripping down his neck and all over his chest.

She smiled a devilishly large smile at me before baring her fangs and pulling Jacob's head to the side. "No!" I scream. The instinct to protect him was so strong, no, _is_ so strong. I phase and bolt at them, I don't care if they kill me, I don't care how long it takes, but he _will_ live. I don't know how my leg or my ribs hold, but as I crash into them, I wrap my front legs around Jacob's body, dragging him with me and protecting him as I tumble to the side.

As quickly as the speed of light, the three wolves from earlier and my pack come shooting past me. I hunch over Jacob, snarling as Skylar's flank taps me. I release him, letting his body spread out on the floor before standing guard over his limp form. My body stays as rigid as stone.

I block my mind off from the pack the second they confirm the vamps as dead and not getting back up. I see as they work as a team to tip my truck the right way up, then grab the clothes from my bag. They all phase back and get dressed. I don't hear the words that they say to my family, I just listen to the slow but steady thump pf Jacob's heart.

Skylar stands from where she was previously crouched by Jenna and walks slowly towards us. My snarls and growls are loud and firm. I will kill her if she comes too close. "Bells?" She says as she keeps walking. A truly petrifying bark bursts out of my mouth, scared, she falls backwards. "Marcus, Matt, get her off him, we need to look."

"I wouldn't." A voice says. One of the three others wolves stands in his human form wearing shorts. "She'll kill all of you before you even get one bite in." He adds. "We can help him though."

"We have to do something!" Skylar hisses. "Anything!"

This is my fault.

If I hadn't insisted on going in first, Jacob would be conscious. "Bells?" Ash says.

The vamps wouldn't have come for us.

I didn't even try to attack them.

I let her hurt him before I acted. "Bella!" Ash screams.

I screw my eyes shut as my breathing becomes harder.

Jacob would probably be smiling now.

He may never smile at me again.

He'll hate me.

He'll hate me forever.

I did this.

This is all my fault.

My eyes shoot open. I look down at the unconscious boy beneath me and realise, this really is my fault. Carefully, as if not to wake him -although I know he's not sleeping- I step away from him, walking backwards as far as I can until I've backed myself into a tree. The rough bark scratches against my solid hide as I carry on trying to get away.

"Bella, you didn't do this." Ash says softly from where she stands.

I look up and meet her eyes across the field. _**"Help him."**_ I whine, she nods. _**"I'll never harm him or anyone again."**_ I say, my mind not keeping quiet. I hear Skylar mumble something about them all being there for me, they then proceed to strip and phase.

A tear falls from my eyes as I speak to them all. _**"From now on, you'll answer to Kyla. She and only she will give you orders. She is from this moment on, your new alpha. You'll not follow me, as I leave, you'll give my family a cover story, one that they will believe and you'll never think about coming after me. I'm so sorry for all of the pain that I've caused you all, I pray though, that Kyla be a better leader than me." **_My voice shakes and cracks as I speak, my pack just stand and try to process all of this information.

My head slowly drops until it hangs on my shoulders, my maw almost trailing on the floor as I stand. I walk over to where Jacob lies on the floor and push my muzzle against his cheek. I watch as tears fall from my eyes and land on his face. What will my leaving do to him?

Howls filled the air, the sign that Kyla has stepped up to take on her new responsibility. And despite my tears, I smile, happy for her. I throw my head back and howl with them, I soon stop though when my body is wracked with sobs. My legs give out underneath me, I collapse next to Jacob, my large head next to his neck. The imprint in me pushes me until I lick the wounds clean on his neck from the leeches fingers, I then push my nose to touch his cheek one last time before I straighten up and bolt.

My legs carry my faster than they ever have before as I shoot past my family, snatch my bag and carry on sprinting. I hear my father's calls, but ignore them. I reach the house that I stay in with Charlie in a matter of minutes. I phase back in the woods, wandering naked towards the house. Knowing full well that Charlie locked the door, I thump it with my hand and go straight up the stairs.

I see my tear stained face in the mirror as I reach my room. I don't care. I fill two bags full of my clothes, money, notebooks, pens, pencils, and I make a mental promise that I'll write to Jacob, to ease the pain of having a shitty imprint like me. Maybe he wont even hurt when I leave. Who would even miss me?

With the shake of my head, I jump straight out of the window with my bags and walk across the road, winking as a car swerves to the side, honking his horn. The second I'm in the woods, I grab the bag that I left earlier and place the three begs on the floor, making sure the handles are together. As quickly as I can, I phase and take the bags in my maw, once they're in my mouth, I run.

**Jacob*~**

It's been two weeks since I woke up.

It's been two weeks since Bella left.

It's been two weeks since I started looking for her.

It's been two weeks since my life started losing all sense.

The second my father told me that she'd run off, I phased. For three days, I ran, I just ran, following any trace of her scent. Her scent died as I reached water, maybe she swam. By the sixth day, I cried myself to sleep and woke up phased back, I used the opportunity and spoke to my father, apologising for not being around, he laughed, patting my shoulder, telling me that there was nothing strange about how I was acting, that I needed to find her and he knew it. I spent that day off, I stayed with him, he cut my hair and we watched crap movies, laughing at them. I missed Bella.

I don't understand why, but Bella's pack have no interest in finding her. Jenna's been out of her mind, Charlie's been busying himself with work. Phil and Renée left last night, saying that she's run away before, she always comes home in time. I don't think that any of them understand how little time I have. Everyday that passes without Bella by my side, I grow weaker, my senses less heightened.

Embry Call and Edward Cullen seem intent on making Jenna's life easier. I personally can't stand to be around her, she reminds me too much of Bella, then I just hurt more.

After the day with my dad, I phased again and haven't seemed to be able to figure out how to change back, not that I care, I'm always running around looking for Bella anyway.

"Jacob!" My father's voice bellows, slapping me out of my trance. I get up from where I've been lying on the forest floor and sprint at record speed back home. As I reach the back door, it swings open and my father gestures for me to move so he can roll down the ramp. I do as he says and sit a few metres away. My head cocks to the side as I see an envelope in his left hand. "Jacob, son, this just arrived. I though you'd want me to get you straight away." He says, his voice wounded.

I can small it. I can smell her all over it. My tail starts wagging as I see her handwriting on the front of the envelope. My dad rips it open and places it on his ramp beside his chair, he places pebbles on the four corners of the folded paper to hold it open for me. I smile at him to show my thanks before he wheels himself back inside.

My eyes flit to the paper, it says:

'_Jacob,_

_I kind of suck at writing letters, I find them so odd because I know I'd much rather be talking to the person, but I think that this is best._

_Honestly, I don't know if you actually care about me in any way, or if you feel as if you have forced affections, either way, I figured that this letter would ease the pain of not having your imprint by your side. I'm so sorry for any pain that I have caused you, but I was so scared, it was all my fault and I think that everyone will be safer this way._

_Please, even if you don't care for me, know that what I did, I did for you._

_I understand completely that you might not have even read this far, but if you have, then thank you. I will carry on sending these letters to you as I know that my scent will make things easier to cope with, I know that you might not want to read them, but either way, I'll write to you._

_Since I first phased, all I wanted was to imprint on the perfect guy, and now I have and I ran away! I guess that's how dumb an imprint you got, huh? I certainly got the better end of that one, so yeah, sorry I guess?_

_I know I'm rambling, but I kind of need to get this all down on paper, you know?_

_Well, basically, I'm safe, not sure if that means anything to you, but for all I know, I may have just set your mind at rest. I've got the craziest roommate… ever! Her name's Kelsey and she's got five cats, they all hiss at me, but she's got a really sweet dog too, his name's Jimmy, he tried to hump my leg the other day… it was horrible! But yeah, I talk loads to her, she asks if I've got a boyfriend all the time, I don't know what to tell her, I mean even if me and you could have been classed as more than friends, I guess that turned to shit when I left._

_I told her about you, my sweet, innocent Jacob who is like my personal sun. she laughed when I told her that the first time we talked when I got home, I was just in my underwear. She says that you sound like a sweetheart and I should get my ass back to you, I sort of agree with her, but I know that I'll just cause more pain. I can't hurt you anymore._

_This is a lot to ask, and I know that, but can you make sure that Jenna's okay? I mean, like just check up her arms for cuts and stuff? I know that she'd never hurt herself like that, but I'm protective over her, so yeah, sorry if you don't want to, it's just that you're the only person I'm sending anything to._

_Well, I guess that's all for this one, maybe I'll drop by in a few months? Who knows, anyhow…_

_Much love, (is that what I should put? Sorry if it's not, but like I said, I'm crap with letters)_

_Bella Xx'_

I feel tears streaming freely down my cheeks as I grin down at the letter. A tiny piece of my Bells. With my mouth, I turn the letter over, trying desperately to find a return address, I find nothing. Oh well, that's a good enough start, and I feel stronger already.

For the rest of the day, and the whole of the next day, I run a little further in an attempt to find my Bells, I come away alone, but I will find her, and when I do, I'll hug her, and I'll kiss her, and she'll never leave my sight again.

**Sooo….. You like? You no like?**

**Did anyone suspect that happening? No! me thinks not!**

**So yeah, please review, all reviews are wanted. If anyone want their name to be used for a character by the way then either review or PM me saying Character name: (then your name) and either put 'V' for vampire, 'W' for werewolf, or 'H' for human, okay, great, I really hope you all review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, I don't know why, but my internet access has suddenly become really poor and my laptop gets no connectoin, so I can only update from my mum's house, and I only go there like twice a month, so I'll try to update when I can, but it may be a while. So yeah, onwards…**

**~*Chapter 7*~**

**Bella*~**

So, it's been just over two weeks since I left. My roommate, Kelsey, is the craziest person that I've ever met. Ever. She's awesome though, she's twenty-three, she makes me smile a little and laugh. She's about five foot five, she's got ginger hair that she always braids to keep out of her face, her face is covered in freckles that guys deem 'cute' and 'not too much' so she's happy about that. Her skin is as pale as a milk bottle and she's got the most piercing green eyes that I've ever seen in my life.

"Bella!" She screams in my ear as she flicks my nose. I pick my face up off the couch and smile at her, it's a small smile, but it's the best I can offer. "Come on, or we'll be late!" She scolds as I try to push my face back into the cushions.

I'm up in a second, on my feet, looking at the enormous clock that she hangs on the wall. I've got twenty minutes to shower, dress, get all my stuff ready and drive us both to where we need to be. "Ah, shit, sorry." I say. "I swear I've never slept in so late before in my life!" I hiss to myself as I unzip my bag and pull some clothes from it.

Kelsey's a teaching assistant at a local school. Yesterday, she got a call saying that the physical education teacher has broken his leg, so a sub is needed for the sports department. She's taking me to meet the principal today to see if I could stand in for those few weeks, paid of course. "Is there a dress code?" I ask Kelsey.

"Um, I'd say like a smart but casual look, like jeans and something to change into." She replies, a hint of a smile as I start rushing round.

I nod as I pick my stuff out. "Okay, so I'll be out in ten." I say as I run into the bathroom.

My shower is quick and thorough. I'm dressed and grabbing my bag that Kelsey thankfully packed while I showered, and I run outside -locking the door as I go- before hopping into Kelsey's car. I give her the 'thumbs up' as I start putting my seatbelt on, so she floors it all the way to school. She drives like a maniac… this is coming from the person who swerves and throws people out of the truck, but she drives like a loony. We get there at eight-twenty-two though, my meeting with the principal is in eight minutes.

We get out of the car, she leads me through the absolutely massive four floor school until we're on the top floor and we're standing outside an office.

"Isabella Swan?" A voice says, my head snaps up from where I've been sitting.

"Oh, yes, sorry, that's me." I say politely as I stand and shake the hand of the small, elderly woman with thin, white hair. She looks just like Betty White.

She takes my hand in hers and shakes it with a grin. "Hello there, I'm Mrs. Wilson. You're here for the sports centre fill in, correct?" She asks me as she leads me into her office.

"Uh, yes ma'am, that's correct." I reply, trying to be as punctual as possible. "I understand that you probably have better offers from people that you'd deem-"

"Isabella, firstly, may I call you Bella?" She asks me, a sweet grin shining though on her features. I nod, smiling myself. "Okay, Bella, I think that you seem like a sweet young woman. I can tell that you're not from around here, and you'll need money to survive. These kids can be a tough piece of work, so don't let them push you around, you just-"

"Uh, ma'am, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but, you do know that I'm only sixteen though? I mean, I'd hate for you to find out some other way-"

"Bella, you're hired, don't worry. I like you, you're gonna be a great new edition to our family." She says, and for the next twenty minutes, we go over everything, she says that today can be like a test drive, if all goes well, then I come back tomorrow. _**(I don't know how things work in America, so I'm sorry, but where I live people at sixteen can get jobs at my old school -probably illegal, and I'm probably from a weird area, but it's all I know, so yeah, sorry)**_

Mrs. Wilson shows me to the staff changing rooms where I go into a cubicle and change into my school sports kit with 'PHOENIX' and '2' on the back of my blue shirt, and my black shorts. When I come out, I'm taken to the staff room where Kelsey sits with many other teachers, and I'm given a locker to put my bag and things in. "Hey!" Kelsey says when she sees me. "I take it things went well?" She asks, half sarcastic. I grin and nod her way.

Kelsey ushers me over to sit with her and the three women that she's sitting with.

"Girls, this is my new roommate, Bella." She says as I take a seat beside her in one of the many chairs. I give a small wave to them all. "So, Bells, this is Karen," She points to a woman who looks no older than I do, she's probably about twenty. "This is Debbie, and this is Shannon." She concludes. Each one of them waves at me, I wave back with a smile. But honestly, I don't care about them, I'd much rather Jacob be here. Maybe I'll run past Forks on Saturday to get a fresh whiff of his scent? God, it's only been nineteen days since I saw him, and I already physically hurt when I try to stop thinking about him.

I talk with the four of them until ten to nine, I then excuse myself and jog down the stairs, past the eyes of all of the students who see me as fresh meat, and down to the sports corridor. I'm the only one there, so I use the keys -Karen told me where they would be hanging- and unlock all of the store cupboards, familiarising myself with where everything is.

In the end of the sports hall, a large board covers most of a wall. The wall has 'Star Pupils' covering it.

Well, I've got fifteen minutes to whatever the fuck I want. I grin as I see the running track that winds round the whole of the sports hall. I grab twenty hurdles and place them all around half of the track, I then grab some random crap like skipping ropes, tennis balls and rackets, footballs, soccer balls, javelins, anything and everything I can. I place them all in and around the track.

To make sure that everything's in the right places, I jog round the track at human speed, jumping over the hurdles until the bell rings. I trip over the last hurdle as a few people clear their throats. A couple gasp as I stumble, and a couple laugh. I just catch myself on my hands and push myself to my feet. "Hi." I say as I turn to the group of over thirty kids, all my age. "Sorry, I didn't hear any of you guys come in." I add as I pick the hurdle back up and place in its spot again.

"Okay, here's the deal. Your teacher broke his leg, so I'm the new stand in. I know I'm not as old as any of the other teachers, but I still deserve respect, if nothing else. I won't push anyone out of their comfort zones, so today, I just want you guys to all do what you want, see who's good at what." I say, my voice still a little steely. "If anyone has anything that they'd like to discuss with me, then I'll just be wandering around. I'll also talk to anyone in private if they have any problems they don't want to be overheard." I add on, did I forget anything? They do the register with these little things on chains around their neck, so that's okay.

I stand tall, not shying away from anyone's gazes. "No fighting, and off you go." I tell them dismissively. Hey, maybe I could do this whole being a human shit. These kids listen to me and they're my own age, so maybe I could.

The lot of them just sort of span out and wander awkwardly to different places.

**~*Next Friday Night (So Two Fridays Later)*~**

"So, you're all packed?" Kelsey asks me for the sixth time from the couch where she's sitting with Debbie, Shannon and Karen.

I roll my eyes. "Yes, mom." I tease softly.

She nods. "Okay, well, call me when you get where you're going?" She asks as she grabs my hand and scribbles her cell number and our home phone that we share.

"Yeah, don't worry." I say, smiling as I pick my bag up.

In just over four weeks, she's become a great friend, I think I'll be a better friend to her though once I've seen Jacob, so that's what I'm doing, I'm running to Forks, finding him, and I'm just going to see him. He won't see me, but he'll feel better if I'm even in the area. And, if he's out, I've got a bunch of letters and photos I can drop on his doorstep.

"I'll be back by Sunday." I tell her as I make my way to the door.

"Okay, well, be safe, okay?"

"Of course, see you!" I yell to them all as I leave, closing the door behind me. I hear a muffled communal 'bye' from them all.

With a grin and the roll of my eyes, I jog away from our apartment and two miles away towards the nearest woods. The second I know I'm out of sight, I take all my clothes off, fold them into my backpack, then I phase, taking my bag in my mouth and stretching all of my stiff joints.

Since I've been here, I haven't phased more than once. I stretch my neck out, sighing as I hear cracks with my popping joints. I then proceed to push my chest flush with the floor, ass in the air as my back cracks. Once I'm done with my many and various positions of stretching, I shoot off deeper into the woods. Not caring about the time, I throw my head back and howl a gleeful howl as I run. The air whips at my fur, brushing my skin softly. It feels strange, the silence. Normally, when I'm phased, even if there's only me, I can still _feel_ the others, but not now, now I know I'm alone. Even that doesn't sadden me though, because in six hours, I'll be back in Forks, I can lay eyes on My Jacob again.

As my feet pound against the sodden earth, I can feel my heart swelling with each step I take closer to Jacob.

Five hours later, I'm shooting through the woods at a speed much greater than ever before, I'm grinning a big wolfish grin. I carry on grinning until I'm only three minutes -when I'm running at full speed- out of Forks, then… _**BAM!**_ I'm crashed into by what feels like a truck, I'm smashed through three trees before a firm jaw clamps down on my neck and forces me into the ground. Instantly, I fight back. I throw my front legs hurtling into the face of my attacker, throwing them into the air.

Before I can get back on my feet, I see the face. They're a wolf, like me, except they're not one of my friends. I think he's one of the jerks from before, the one that I tried to shove but couldn't. As I try to stand, another wolf bursts into the woods to help his friend and shoves me into the floor by my throat. I forced to lie on my front, snarling and snapping as one wolf holds the scruff of my neck, while the other paces, barking at me. I wonder if he knows I can't hear him in my head?

I make no move to stand, knowing full well that the idiot alone barking at me could rip me to shreds with the state I'm in. Speaking of which, he throws his head back and a howl ripples through the air, chilling me to the bone. I know that howl, it's a distress howl, a howl that's alerting the alpha and the rest of the pack to a danger. Me. I'm the danger? I make the mistake of snickering at the thought of being a threat, both of the wolves growl at me, the grip on my neck tightening. Blood stains my white coat.

The bigger on, the one that howled, rips the zipper on my bag. I thrust my legs into the floor and force my attacker onto the ground, before he can get up, I ram my entire body weight into him and force him into a tree. I then turn round and bolt at the big one.

From the way he stands, I can tell that he's a good, strong, brutal fighter. But damn it, that's my stuff, if they don't already know who I am -which they don't since I've never been phased with any pack other than my own- then I'd like to keep it that way. I can hear them, two sets of feet, they're fast, but not my kind of fast. I take him head on, crashing straight into him, forcing my right shoulder into his throat as he tries to bite me.

The smaller one leaps and grasps my flank in his jaw. His teeth don't pierce my skin, but his grip yanks me off his friend long enough for the big one to clamp me back down by my throat, my paws all out to one side, the small one pins my flank to the muddy, sodden earth.

I release, a long, relaxed sigh. If they were planning on killing me, they'd have already done it, I'm not dying today.

The two of them keep me pressed into the ground until two other wolves come bounding towards us, one large black one and a slightly smaller grey one. Their faces show that they recognise me, but don't know why. I smirk at them, nodding my head in greeting.

All four of them snarl and growl at me, probably trying to speak, but I don't hear them in my head, so I just lie still. The massive black one phases back to his human form and pulls on a pair of shorts he had strapped to his leg. "Hello." He says softly as he comes towards me, as if approaching a wild animal… oh. I smile up at him. "Paul, Embry, let him go." He says. Him? _Him!_ Do I look like a fucking guy!

The wolves holding me down move -slowly, but they move- away from me and stand stiffly as I stand and shake my coat out.

"Now, I know that you're probably extremely confused right now, but we're all here, we're all part of a family. You can become part of that family, you can join us, train with us. Eventually, you'll be able to stay in control of when and where you change-" He's interrupted by the big one -Paul- as he snorts, getting his alphas attention.

The alpha wanders cautiously past me and to where Paul is looking at my bag. He looks to where Paul is nudging something on my bag, I squint to see it: a name tag.

"Isabella Swan." The alpha reads. The wolves gasp around me. "Isabella?" He questions, looking at me. I nod and walk towards him, taking my bag in my maw and pushing it open. I pull a tank top and some shorts out. "Turn!" He says authoritatively. On command, all of them -including himself- turn away from me, giving me a little privacy.

I take the small amount of privacy they gave me and phase back. I pull my clothes on as quickly as possible. "So, you're one stronger than before, huh?" I say kind of awkwardly as I'm done. The wolves all turn back round.

"Yeah, Embry's our newest recruit, him and-" He trails off, not giving me another name. "Why are you here?" He asks me suddenly.

Should I tell him? Meh, why not. "I came to see Jacob Black." I tell him truthfully.

He nods thoughtfully. "Okay, why now though? Why not sooner?" his voice sounds almost desperate.

I shrug, not wanting to explain anything to him.

"Okay, well, are you at least staying for a while? Or are you just gonna run off again?" He hisses. "Tell me, how long does the poor guy have before you crush him?"

"I was planning on being no more than five minutes, then I'd go back, but I've already been here for twenty, so I guess I'll stay for another five." I say, not giving him anything useful. "Also, maybe your mutts should learn that vampires and werewolves are different, only one is the enemy!" I snap. "Or maybe they need to be put to a different use, like sniffing out their own kind, because by the looks of it, you all seem to have seen me as the threat. Tell me, which one of you _should_ be patrolling? How long has it been since you checked the other side of town? What if a vamp's in town?" They need to fucking learn. "So, you leave me to my business, and I'll leave you to do yours, okay?"

He nods. "Fine, go on then."

"You know what, forget it, just give him that bag will you?" I ask him with a dismissive wave of my hand.

"What! No!" One of the wolves yells as he phases back. He yanks his shorts up in record time. "Please, don't go. Just go see him, please, he's a mess. He comes out looking for you all day everyday, if you're not staying, then give him a reason to stop looking, just don't string him along." He says, pleading with me.

I nod. "I'll come back tomorrow at a more reasonable h-"

"No!" He cries again. "See him now, it's not like he sleeps anyway." He adds sadly.

I huff out a breath. "Yeah, sure, fine." I say. I grab my bag from the ground and zip it up. "See you." I say as I turn and start in the direction of Forks. "Seriously though, you should probably get someone on the patrols." I say, I hear them phase and watch as they shoot off in different directions. Once they're all gone, I start jogging.

My jogging soon gets boring, so I sprint. I sprint much faster than a human could ever wish of running. But I make it.

I almost cry as I see it. Jacob and Billy's house. It's the same as a month ago when I left.

There's noise coming from inside, Billy and Jacob talking. "-did I do wrong?" Jacob sobs. My heart drops.

"Nothing, son, she just needs some time to clear-"

"A month!" Jacob screams. "She's had a fucking month! I can't take it, where the fuck is she!" He bellows. He soon begins to cry, I listen for a few seconds as Billy consoles his son. Well, just over a month ago, I wondered if Jacob Black could be angry, I guess I have my answer now.

A single tear ventures down my cheek, but I walk forwards, slowly, almost scared.

I freeze when I hear other voices, two in particular: Jenna and Charlie. They tell Jacob that it'll all be okay, that I'll come back. Is this even the right thing to do? How has he not picked up on my scent by- "Bella!" Jacob's voice cries.

As if I think he's seen me, I look up, he's not there though, he's still inside. But then he's not. He's by the door then outside in literally a second. "Bells." He breathes out as he sees me.

"Jake." I say, not trusting myself to get the other syllable of his name out.

I feel my legs moving, I see his moving. But it's not until we collide that I realise that we actually ran at each other.

The force of our impact sent us both hurtling to the ground. My face smacks into Jacob's chest. I don't even bother to look at him, I just cry into him. His face goes to the crook of my neck where he too cries. We land with a sickening thud on my back, but neither of us move, we just hold the other harder than I ever though possible and cry. I've got no idea where my bag is, but I don't give a shit.

I lift my face, as does Jacob. His hair's short, it's sexy too. He's got a stern, unforgiving look in his eyes that says how pissed off he is, but underneath that, there's a soft, warm, loving side. So I take the loving side by cupping his face in my hands and grinning up at him. "You left." He hisses harshly. I don't answer him, I just pull his face towards my own.

When our lips meet, I feel as if I'm dead. His cold, hard exterior melts as he gives in to my touch.

There's nothing soft, or gentle, or sweet about our kiss. It's nothing like the couple of others that we've shared. This kiss is about dominance, it shows that Jacob is the male here, that I will submit. And I do, I submit and whimper as I realise how much pain I've caused him, My Jacob. It's not in the nature of my kind to roll over -so to speak- and submit to anyone, but with an imprint, all you want to do is please them.

As Jacob pulls his mouth from mine, I whimper quietly. "I'm so sorry." I whisper, my tears still flowing freely.

Jacob rolls to the side of me, probably just as aware as I am of the eyes of both our fathers and my sister. "Six hours." Jacob mutters. I look at him questioningly. He smiles, but it's not my sun's smile, it's a small, sad smile. "I was awake for six hours, that's how long it took them to tell me." He says, his voice cracking a little.

"I'm sorry." I repeat as I roll onto my side to face him.

He shakes his head softly. "No, don't be. I mean, I was pissed, I guess I still am, but you were scared, right?" He asks me, I instantly nod my head. "So, it wasn't any of us? Like, it wasn't anyone's fault?" I shake my head as he speaks. "Okay, so now you're back." He says, a sweet grin spreading all over his face. "You came back to me."

How? How do I tell him that I'm leaving again late tomorrow? I've got a job now, I can't stay. There's even been talk of a permanent position at the school purely because the kids cooperate with me -probably because technically I'm one of them. "Yeah." I whisper. "I came back." I say. What else could I say?

"I was so scared." He mutters, his voice so quiet, much too quiet. "It was only me, you know?" I use my elbow to prop my head up, Jacob does the same, facing me. "Was that what it was like for you? Were you all alone? They all tried talking to me, I couldn't hear them though." his voice cracks as a sob rips through him.

Gently, I reach over and lay my hand across his cheek. "What happened? Why were you alone?" I ask him, confused. What's he talking about?

He sniffles softly. "When it happened. I still can't hear them, it's like I'm waiting for someone, for you, I don't know, but it's horrible." He tells me.

"Jacob, what are you on about?" I ask him, getting more concerned with every word he says.

What if he's- "When I phased." He says, confirming my suspicions. "It's only me, Bella, it's so horrible!" He sobs. I start rubbing my thumb over his cheek.

"Is that- is that why you cut your hair?" I ask him, feeling my own sobs beginning to shake my body.

He nods slowly, sadly. "Yeah, it got in the way." He tells me glumly.

I nod, but then something pops into my head. What if it wasn't a silence in my pack mind before, but a single unattached mind? Like, I didn't know Jacob's presence, so I could feel it, but I didn't know it was him, so I thought it was nothing. "Jake, will you let me try something?" I ask him, suddenly excited.

He nods with a smile, sensing my excitement.

I stand, offering Jake my hand. He takes it, grinning as our skin touches. Once we're both up, I pull Jake into the woods. I notice Jenna, Charlie and Billy all watching with suspicious eyes, but I ignore them as I drag Jake along behind me far enough into the woods that we'll not be seen. Before Jake can ask any questions, I reach for the hem of my shirt, pulling it up my stomach.

When he doesn't turn away, I don't find myself telling him to turn round, I don't find myself turning away, I don't even find myself blushing, I just end up smirking as I pull my shirt the rest of the way over my head and dropping it to the floor. I look away slightly, blushing too hard with embarrassment to look at Jake while he stares at me, so I drop my shorts, leaving me completely bare before him.

"You too." I whisper as I reach out and take the hem of his shirt in my hands. Jake takes a step closer to me, making it easier for me to get his shirt up, over his mega, rock hard abs. gently, I pull his shirt the rest of the way over his head and drop it beside my own. When my shaking hands reach the hem of Jake's shorts, his huge hands come to cover my own.

"Bells?" He says, probably wondering why I'm undressing him.

I close the gap between us, resting my forehead against his chest as I loosen the drawstrings on his shorts, letting them slide down his legs. My eyes shut as I inhale deeply into Jake's chest. A small, but audible moan pushes its way from my mouth as I feel Jake's hot, pulsing erection against my abdomen. "Trust me?" I question as Jake leans down and rests his head against my shoulder.

"Always." He confirms with a gentle peck on my collarbone.

Sighing, I involuntarily push my body closer to his, our hips brushing lightly. Quicker than intended, I pull away, blushing madly. "I, uh, I want to see if we can hear each other when we phase." I mumble as I open my eyes.

He nods, smiling at me. "Okay." is all he says. "So, uh, do we just, you know, do it?" He asks, blushing at the double meaning of his words.

I grin, "Yeah, I guess." I reply.

"Cool, it's just that I'm not all that good at phasing back." He says, scratching the back of his head nervously.

I shrug. "That's a normal thing, Jake, Ash didn't phase back for a month, even then she only did because it was an order." I tell him, trying to be reassuring. "It'll get easier with time, trust me." I add with a smile.

Jacob nods, stepping away from me before bursting into a stunning red-russet wolf. I stare in awe at him, his muscular form, the colour of his fur, the way his body moves. He's beautiful. I snap myself out of my trance by bringing my right hand up to caress his cheek. Happily, he leans into my touch, making small yipping sounds. Grinning, I throw myself at him, just as he did to me when I first phased in front of him. Just as I did to him, he curls his front paw around my back, pulling my closer and trapping me with his neck over my neck and shoulder.

When we release one another, I take a few steps back and phase.

There are a few seconds of silence as we both just stare.

"_**Did it work?"**_ Jake whimpers.

I grin a massive wolfish grin as his voice rings clearly through my head.

He yips happily as he sees me grin, and bolts at me. Since we were only two metres apart, when Jacob crashed into me, he took us both to the floor. When we're done rolling from side to side, I end up lying on my back, paws in the air, with Jacob standing over me, his massive frame covering my own. His front paws are just below my front shoulders, his hind legs are in between my own, firmly planted either side of my tail.

To a wolf, there would be nothing odd about this position, but considering we're also teenagers, I can tell that we're both blushing, even if I can't see it.

Softly, Jacob lowers his front legs until our chests are touching. He then runs the rough pad of his tongue over the left side of my neck, from the base of my neck, up to my jaw bone. _**"Why couldn't I hear you before?"**_ Jacob wonders as he repeats his licking.

"_**I was weaker when I phased, so I didn't. It hurt too much."**_ I tell him.

"_**I know this is a weird question, but now you're back, can you teach me how to fight?"**_ Jake asks me, his head cocking to the side as he steps off me.

I roll onto my front and stand, I'm almost a foot smaller than Jacob. _**"Yeah, I mean, I'll try, but I'm not the best fighter out there."**_I reply with a shrug.

"_**Bullshit! When I was first phased, your pack all spoke to me, they told me stories about how amazing you are! Skylar told me you took down the vamp that made her phase, and you were what, thirteen?"**_ he exclaims, his voice wild with passion.

I smirk, he really thinks so highly of me? _**"That was life or death." **_I tell him. _**"I had no choice but to act."**_

"_**Okay, well how about we head back then. I mean, your dad and sister are worried sick." **_He says, I can almost hear how glum he is that we won't be alone.

Spending one night home can't hurt, right? _**"Yeah, sure. But first, we've gotta get you phased back."**_ I reply, bursting into my human form before he can complain. Now to explain how to phase back. "Just stay calm." I whisper as I reach forward and softly stroke his muzzle. He leans happily into my touch. "Close your eyes." I say as I begin stroking from his maw to his cheek. "Imagine anything and everything that makes you happy, hold onto it, like an anchor." I add.

Before I can get another soothing piece of advice out, Jacob's standing before my in his human form. Well, not standing, more like stumbling.

I squeal happily and laugh as his stumbling forces him into me and then me into a tree.

Grinning, I wrap my arms around him, pulling him with me as my back hits the rock hard bark. Jake chuckles cheerily into my neck. "Sorry." He mutters, grinning against my skin. I just push my fingers into his hair and pull his face up towards mine.

"Don't be." I groan as I press my lips to his. A deep rumble escapes his chest as his lips start to move against my own. "Come on, we should be getting back." I mumble against his lips as I push lightly against his chest.

He nods as we both pull away, grinning like an idiot. "Come on then, Swan." He says as he takes a step away from me, allowing me to step away from the tree.

"Of course, but I think that we should get our clothes on first, Mr. Black." I whisper as I move to grab our clothes from the floor.

"Oh, yeah, I kind of forgot." He admits with a sheepish grin as I hand him his clothes.

Quickly and quietly -both stealing glances at the other- we both get our clothes back on before making our way out of the woods. "So, where did you go?" Jake asks me as we near the house.

"I don't actually know." I tell him truthfully. "I know how to get there, but not once did I see the name of the place." shit, I need to tell him. "Jake, before we go in," I say, grabbing his hand and stopping him. He looks at me worriedly. "I need to tell you something." again, he looks at me as if I'm precious. "Where I was, I had an apartment, and I had a job and-"

"And you're going back?" He finishes with disbelief, shaking my hand off of his own. "You're leaving me again?" He whimpers.

I shake my head as a tear trickles over my cheek. "No, Jake, now we can hear each other it wouldn't be as hard. We can talk everyday, and it's only for another six weeks, maximum, then I'll turn down the permanent job and I'll come back home, and we'll-"

"And what! Hm? What then? You get to watch while we all wither away!" He bellows, the strange tone of an alpha hinting its way into his voice. "If you're going anywhere," He hisses, getting closer to my face. It's not like he's going to kiss me though, it's almost menacing. "I'm coming with you." He concludes.

"You can't, you've got your da-"

"No, Sue will look after him, or Harry, or Charlie, anyone who knows will help. I know that you're too stubborn to see sense, so I'm not gonna try and persuade you to stay, but I'm sure as hell not letting you out of my sight." He whispers harshly, his words send a weird tingle up my spine.

A sort of smile comes to lie on my face. "I don't think you could handle the weird that is Kelsey." I tell him with a peck on the cheek. I then proceed to carefully take his hand in my own, smiling when his fingers curl around mine and tug lightly to pull me to the front door.

"That's just something you can help me with, then." He replies, his face softening into a lazy, sexy grin. "Come on." He says cheerily as he pushes the door fully open revealing my father, sister and Billy.

Grinning, I say "Hey, guys." within a second, my father and Jenna have me squashed between them, their tears falling onto me as they both hold me tight and put their head on both of my shoulders.

"Bells!" Charlie exclaims as he pulls away. "My baby girl!" I've never seen him cry before, but right now he's bawling his eyes out.

I still have Jacob's hand firmly in my grasp, not planning on letting go any time soon.

"Hey, dad, are you crying?" I tease softly.

For the next three hours, until one in the morning, the five of us all talk and catch up. "So, your roommate has five cats?" Billy asks, grinning.

I nod. "Yeah, five cats and a dog." I reply. "Oh!" I exclaim, jumping up. "Billy, can I use your phone?" I ask him, he nods right away and I scurry to the phone. Quickly, I dial the number on my palm and listen as it rings.

"It's one in the morning! If you're not Bella then I'm gonna kick your ass into the next state!" Kelsey hisses down the phone.

"Yeah, it's me." I say, smiling.

"Oh, thank God!" She screams. With my sensitive hearing, I have to hold the phone a little away from my ear. "I've been sitting here by the phone since the second you left! So, are you back home? Is Jacob there? Ooh, can I speak to Jacob?" from beside me, Jake chuckles, having heard her.

"Yes, yes and no." I tell her, grinning.

She groans into the receiver. "Damn you! I want to speak to your sexy god of-"

"Shut up!" I hiss. "I did not say that!" I can feel myself blushing. For the last week, she's been claiming that I call Jacob my 'sexy god of sexy god stuff' and I know, she's weird.

She chuckles down the phone. "Not while you were awake, but you sure as hell talk when you're asleep. All I hear if I go to the bathroom is how Jacob's abs are to die for, and how his hair-"

"Okay! I arrived back safely, bye!" I all but yell down the phone before putting it down just as quickly as I picked it up.

"Bella." Billy says with a smile.

I nod. "Yeah?" I ask.

He releases a sigh, as if he can't believe something. "Why don't you and Jacob head on over to your dad's?" He says, his tone tired and almost bored sounding. "Your dad and sister will stay here for the night." He adds.

Charlie opens his mouth to protest, but I get in there first. "Dad, answer me this, what do you think we'd do? I've been running at like three fifty miles per hour for five hours straight. I really just want to sleep." I tell him. I know that Jacob and I are imprints, but we're not just going to fuck like wild beasts. Well… if he were to suggest it then I might not turn him down is all I'm saying.

"Ah!" He groans as if in physical pain. "Okay, fine, just… I don't know, just go before I change my mind." He says, waving his hand to me, almost dismissively.

Ten minutes later, Jake's packed a rucksack and we're outside after waving goodbye to everyone. I grab my bag from where I dropped it almost three and a half hours ago, then we're off.

We walk quickly but carefully through the woods, hands clasped tightly together.

By the time we're home, I'm on Jacob's back having a piggy back ride as I'm almost too tired to walk. I'm holding Jake's bag lazily in my right hand while my left strokes his hair onto his forehead, then back off it again. "Thanks." I say as I lean down to kiss his neck, grinning. He nods happily while pushing the door open, walking the two of us in.

We both burst out laughing when my forehead smacks the top of the doorframe. "You're too tall!" I exclaim, rubbing my forehead as Jake pulls me round from his back to his waist. Both of my hands go to my head and I thank god for my abdominal strength as one of Jake's hands is on the underside of my right thigh and his other is tangled in with my own on my head. "I swear you've grown since I left." I tell him.

"Yeah, about four inches." He tells me happily.

"You're six four!" I exclaim, Jesus Christ!

He nods, chuckling. "Yeah, I sure am." He says. "So when girls get all bitchy, saying shit like 'my boyfriend's a marine! He's like six foot and he'll kill you!' or whatever they say, you can just butt in like 'Bitch please, my imprint's a six foot four werewolf!' and then yeah." He says, snapping his fingers and pouting like a slutty girl then shrugging as he sets me down and pulls our hands off my forehead then holds them behind my back as he kicks the door shut.

"I don't think that'd ever come up in conversation." I tell him with a smile. "But I'll keep it in mind."

Grinning, his head goes down to my neck, his teeth grazing softly over the flesh exposed above the neck of my t-shirt.

I close my eyes and release a long, deep sigh of contentment, subconsciously pushing my hips into his a little. I try to pull my hands from Jake's in order to put them in his hair, but he just holds them tighter and bites down harder. I get it, when we're phased I'm an alpha, but here he's my dom and I'm his sub -or so to speak, you know, without the whips and things.

With one hand Jake holds both of my wrists behind my back while the other grabs at my hip and roughly leads me backwards into the couch. I fall lengthways across the couch with Jake toppling over to land on top of me, his body covering my own.

A growl rumbles from deep within him as his hips grind down on mine. I whimper as my hips buck up to meet his.

I swear, if this is punishment for running away, then I might have to run off more often.

He then proceeds to straddle my hips, pinning me down to the couch and letting go of my hands, but his message is clear that they're not to move. I can feel his erection pressing firmly between us as he leans down, planting his forearms stiffly either side of my head. Before I can think of some crap joke about boners, his lips crash into mine.

He's rough with the way he kisses me, rushing and catching me with his teeth.

I groan and move my lips furiously against his.

**I'm sorry for making you guys wait when you told me that you liked it, I feel bad!**

**Please review though guys.**

**And like I said at the top, it will be ages before I can update again, but on the up side I've written up to chapter twelve, so I might post two the next time I post! Sadly though, I wrote it all over a year and a half ago, so I'm editing it all where it's a bit childish... anyhow, please review so I know you want me to keep going!**


	8. Chapter 8

**~*Chapter 8*~**

**Bella*~**

I'm unsure of when Jacob and I actually fell asleep. All I know is that it was at least four in the morning, and we were both in my bed. Thankfully, I was wearing pyjamas and Jake was wearing his boxers.

All I really know right now though is whoever's knocking happily away at the fucking door needs to piss off. It's eight in the morning and I feel like shit. I need more sleep.

I pull my face out of Jake's chest and stand on wobbly feet. Quickly, so I don't wake him, I walk quietly to my wardrobe and pull out some shorts and a shirt. I get changed in about four seconds before I rip my hairbrush through my hair, put it in a hair tie and jog down the stairs.

_KNOCK!_

_KNOCK!_

_KNOCK!_

Okay, I guess today's the day bitches die.

I make it to the door without phasing and killing anyone in about three seconds, then yank it open. "Hey, Jen, you ready?" Jess asks from the other side of the doorframe. She stands with Mike, Eric and Angela.

Before I can speak, Mike is. "Damn, Arizona, you tanned?" He asks.

"Guess again." I grumble under my breath. "You got the wrong twin." I tell them with a small smile. "If you want Jenna then she's-"

"Bella!" Angela exclaims, she bursts through the door and pulls me into a hug. Within a second I'm covered by the four friends. "Where the hell have you been?" She hisses in my ear.

I grin a little. "Oh, you know, here and there." I tell her with a shrug. "Anyway, why are you all awake and moving? It's eight in the morning!" I snap playfully, wriggling out of the hug.

"You don't know?" Jess asks, astounded. I shake my head. "It's like the biggest thing to ever happen in Forks!" She exclaims. I raise an eyebrow. "It's a surfing tournament!" She tells me with a grin.

I nod, grinning. "And you watch?" I ask. They all shake their heads. "You all join in?" I ask, amazed when they nod. "You're gonna get Jenna on a surfboard?" I ask, cracking up a little.

Mike nods. "Yeah, she's the only one that can swim far enough out to get on the damn thing." He says.

"You guys can't swim?" I ask, ushering them inside.

"Oh no, we can swim." Eric assures me. "But none of us are as strong a swimmer as she is." He tells me.

I nod. She was always the better swimmer out of the two of us. She's like a fucking fish.

"You should come!" Jess announces. "We've got Mike's mom's car, it'll take seven and with Jenna there's only five of us." She adds. Does she really want me to go?

"I might drop by later." I answer truthfully. "I've got things to-"

"Bells?" comes a deep, sleepy voice from upstairs.

Mike and Eric look slightly uncomfortable, while Jess and Angela smirk at me. all four of them raise their eyebrows suggestively and give me questioning looks.

I hide my face in my hands to cover my blush and grin. "Yeah!" I yell back up.

"Oh, sorry, thought you were gone!" He shouts back down.

"Nope, just down here, some friends came looking for Jenna!" I tell him. I turn back to the others. "You know what, I'll go get you her number!" I exclaim, running up the stairs before any of them can protest. "Morning." I mumble as I push my bedroom door open.

Jake's lying on his back, the cover's pulled up to his hips, showing me his perfect torso and that stunning V that has a thin line of hair on it. "Morning." He replies, grinning as he goes to stand, dropping the sheet, confirming that he's not naked. I know, it's saddening.

Before he can push himself off the bed, I walk over and straddle his hips, pushing his chest so he lies back down.

I place my forearms on his chest and lean on them, arching my back so out stomachs touch but our hips don't. "I need your house number." I tell him, grinning as his hands wander to my waist.

He nods but says nothing, just lets his eyes roam my body. I snap my fingers in front of his face when his eyes stare slightly at my chest. "Eyes up here, Black!" I hiss playfully, taking his face roughly in my hands.

"I thought you'd run off again." Jake mumbles, his sleepy smile falling completely from his face. I shake my head and bring our lips together.

"Nope, still here." I whisper against his lips before standing completely off him and throwing a pen and piece of paper from my desk at him. "Number!" I say, grinning. "Oh yeah, you want to come to the beach later?" I ask hopefully.

He nods. "Yeah, but there's a surfing thing going on there, you know?"

"Yeah, they just told me. Asked if I wanted to come, I said I'd drop by later, and I was kind of hoping you wouldn't make me go alone." I tell him, smiling as he pushes himself to his feet, letting the paper and pen fall to the floor.

"I go every year, I was kind of hoping _you_ wouldn't make _me_ go alone." He replies, smirking happily to himself as he stalks over to me in a predatory way.

Before he can grab me, I yank my door open and run down the stairs. "Number!" I yell back up, smiling happily. That is, until I see my friends, all four of them smirking at me.

"Damn, Bella, who are you hiding up there?" Jess says, grinning from ear to ear.

I shrug. "No one." I say as casually as I can.

She nods. "Okay, well who's up there?" She asks.

Just as I'm trying to think of some shitty excuse, there's the sound of feet on the stairs. Jacob's walking down the stairs with the phone pressed to his ear in nothing but his boxers. "This is Jacob." I say rather awkwardly.

"Yeah, she's right here." He says, smirking at me. He takes the phone away from his ear and holds it out to me. "Your sister." He says.

I grab the phone and push him in the direction of the stairs. "Clothes, Black!" I hiss, unable to hide my grin when he just laughs at me and wanders into the kitchen.

"Okay, where do I get one of those?" Jess mumbles, staring after my imprint.

I shrug, grinning as I put the phone to my ear. "Hey, J-"

"You coming?" She asks before I can finish.

"Uh-"

"Cool, bring Jake, pass me to Jess?" She asks. What?

I turn to Jess. "For you." I tell her, confused with Jenna.

She takes the phone and starts talking with Jenna, she then puts it on speaker so they can all talk to her. I slip away into the kitchen. Jake's sitting on the counter with an apple in his hand and the biggest bite mark on it I've ever seen. "Jake, how big is your mouth?" I ask in amazement.

"Enormous." He says proudly with a grin.

I smile, opening the fridge door and grabbing the orange juice. "You want some?" I ask Jake, grinning as he raises an eyebrow and looks me up and down.

"It depends what you're offering." He whispers so quietly that the others wouldn't have heard if they were sitting next to him.

I grab two glasses out of the cupboard, setting them on the counter. "Everything." I whisper back before walking into the doorframe. "You guys want a drink or anything?" I ask them all. All four of them ask for water. I nod.

When I turn back into the kitchen, Jake's got four more glasses out, two already filled, filling the third. While he's doing that I pick his apple up and take a massive bite despite the murderous glare he throws my way. The second he's done he turns and passes them to me. "You're lucky you're my imprint." He tells me with a smrik before kissing me roughly, demandingly, and taking his apple back. I take all four in my hands and walk back into the living room -a little startled I might add- where they're still chatting to Jenna. "Thanks, Bella." Jess says.

"Bells, if you've been fucking Jake in my bed I swear I'll kill you." Jenna whisper-yells down the phone.

"Sure, sure." I reply. "Only twice!" I hiss playfully before walking back into the kitchen. "And I drooled on your pillow while I was muffling my screams!" I yell from the kitchen, grinning at Jake's wide open mouth and at Jenna's cursing down the phone.

"Only twice?" Jake mutters from his spot on the counter, grinning.

I shrug. "Yeah, I was sleepy." I say, smirking. I'm pretty sure everyone knows that we didn't have sex, but I still find it funny.

"Well that's fair enough." He says, still playing along with me.

"Bella!" Jess says loudly from the living room.

I walk past Jake, pressing a quick peck to his shoulder before walking into the next room. "Yeah? What's up?" I ask her.

"Jenna says she's got no bathing suits and that she knows you need one, so she says she's coming back with your dad then we're all going shopping. Oh, and handsome in there is coming too." She says, grinning like a Cheshire cat at me.

I nod. "What if Jake's got stuff to do?" I question, raising an eyebrow, actually, it's just that I don't want them questioning him. I'm lucky enough to have imprinted on him, but I'm pretty sure that Jess could scare him off if she tried hard enough.

She shrugs.

"I don't." Jake says as he wanders past me, his eyes lighting up with a glint of mischief. "But I do need to go home and get a shirt." He says casually, gesturing to his bare chest. Quickly, before I can say a single word, he runs up the stairs.

"Back in a min." I tell the others before following Jake up the stairs. "Hey." I say, grinning as I watch him pull his shorts up over his ass.

He turns. "Hi." He says back. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah, I haven't been here in a while." I say. "But, I was just thinking, I took the emergency bag when I left, so I've got Matt's and Marcus' stuff, you could borrow one of their shirts if you want, they're all new anyway, so I guess if you said yes then they'd be your shirts." I tell him, moving my hands as I speak.

A soft, sexy smile drops casually onto his face as he looks at me. "Sure, yeah." He says. I turn and grab the bag, puling it open and tossing a shirt at him, it's black and he'll roast, but it'll do. "Thanks." He says genuinely as he wrestles the clothing over his head. Just as an excuse to touch him, I take the hem in my hands and pull it down, letting my fingertips trail over his abs.

I nod. "No problem." I tell him, leaving my palms flat on his stomach.

"Come on." He says, quickly pulling away from me and jogging with a childish grin out of my room.

Smiling, I follow him from my room and down my stairs, grabbing some cash from the bag on my way past.

"Jenna just rang me." Jess says as we reach the bottom of the stairs. I raise an eyebrow. "She says that your dad's been called into work so he dropped her off in town, we'll meet her there." She tells me. I nod.

"You still need to go back?" I ask Jake.

He turns to me. "Yeah, I'll meet you at the beech later." He tells me, I can see his smile falter a little at the thought of being apart.

I shake my head. "No, I'll come with you, then I can talk to your dad a little." I reply.

A few minutes later Jake and I are locking the door behind the six of us and saying our byes. "So, we'll see you in town when?" Jess asks.

"Well if we walk quickly back to Jake's that'll take us how long, ten minutes?" I say, looking at Jake for confirmation, he nods, grinning. "Then we'll be five at his place, then we'll take like fifteen to get to town, so I'd say just over half an hour." I tell her, shrugging as we both step away from the door and cross the road to the woods.

"Okay, just walk round the food diner, then we'll drive up to the mall!" Angela yells as we walk into the brush.

I nod, but then shout as I'm unsure if she heard me or not. "Will do! See you in a half hour!" I yell. "Oh, and tell Jenna not to forget her towel like when we were ten!"

Jake takes my hand in his as Jess yells back confirmation that she heard us. "How are we getting to my place in ten minutes?" He asks me as we walk hand in hand along the windy trails of the woods.

My feet stop and I turn to face him. "We're gonna phase and run." I tell him, starting straight away on his shirt.

He grins and nods. "Cool." He says, his own hands flying to pull the hem of my shirt up.

We make quick work of removing each others clothes. I then fold both sets and pass Jake his. He thanks me, stepping back and phasing, taking them in his mouth. I put my own pile on the floor, copying him.

"_**I'm not all that fast, Bells." **_He tells me.

I shrug. _**"You're a werewolf, you don't need to be all that fast."**_ I tell him, nudging his shoulder with my own as I start walking at a slow pace. _**"It's all about building speed, not just shooting off like a rocket."**_ I add, slowly going up to a jog.

Within two minutes we're running, dodging trees and jumping happily around. While Jake's mind is away with the fairies as they say, I leap into him, tackling him to the ground. He lets out a very feminine noise as we crash into the woodland floor. I'm up before he's finished tumbling over, grinning I shoot off. I know he's quick enough to catch up to me, so I just tease him in my head, knowing he can hear me.

A few seconds later he's running by my side as we enter the opening that his house is built on.

We phase at the same time, Jake falling over as he tries to stay standing. We both tug our clothes on. "How do you do that?" He asks me.

"Do what?" I ask, helping him up.

"How do you stay standing up when you literally just phased?"

I shrug. "I guess it's all practice." I reply as we make our way to the front door. Billy swings it open the second we're about to reach for the handle.

"Are the two of you idiots!" He hisses, his voice quiet. "Harry, Sue, Seth and Leah are here and I've got you two morons phasing on my front yard! Be considered luck only Sue saw you both!" He snaps.

Shit!

"Billy, I'm so sorry, I didn't hear anyone!" I tell him, instantly thinking of everything that could have gone wrong.

**Jenna*~**

Holy shit, I'm gonna die.

I'm gonna die.

I'm gonna die!

A fist smashes into my face, throwing me off my balance and to my hands and knees. "Jenna!" I hear Jess shriek.

She got here about ten seconds ago with Mike, Eric and Angela. Ten seconds before that Lauren walked over to me, saying that I was trying to get with her boyfriend. When I denied it -because it's not true- she punched me, I guess that brings us to now.

"Go near him again, and I'll kill you. Got it, bitch!" She snaps, her foot shoving me by the ribs onto my side.

I spit out a mouthful of blood, glaring up at her as I make to stand. Her foot forces me back down again. "I said, do you understand!" She snaps.

Reluctantly, I nod.

"I'm not sure if you heard me, but I told you that if you ever laid a finger on my sister that I'd kill you, correct?" comes a new voice, then I see Lauren look scared. "Save yourself the humiliation of me kicking your ass," Bella says. "and run along!" She snaps, her voice stern, just as it's always been with anyone that messed with me.

Lauren gives her the stink eye and sets about moving towards her.

I stand, wiping my blood away.

Jake steps in font of Bella. "Come on now, how about we all just walk in the opposite direction." He says, his hand resting on Bella's hip, urging her not to make a scene.

Sensing the damage that can be done here, Lauren swishes her hair over her shoulder and puts a hand on Jake's chest, leaning in as close as she can. "Anything for you, darling." She murmurs.

"I wouldn't touch you if you were drowning." Jake tells her monotonously. "In fact, I'd probably get my camera out, so stop touching me before I catch one of your STDs." He snaps, stepping away from her with a look of utter disgust on his face. He pulls Bells with him, holding her close enough that she can't lunge as the two of them walk over to me.

Lauren stumbles over to her friends who all look at Jake like he's mad before turning to her and telling her how funny it was.

"Come with me." Bella tells me, she takes my hand and drags me towards the diner. "I'm sorry, that was my fault." She says sadly.

I laugh at her. "How could it have been?" I ask her, after all, how could it?

"I pissed her off on my second day, then she started hitting on Matt right in front of River so I shoved her into a car and threatened her. And I told her that I'd kill her or beat her up or something if she hurt you. I guess that's why she hates-"

"Actually, Bells." I say. "I've been tutoring her boyfriend in French and he tried to kiss me, when I told him no and walked out, he told everyone that I came onto him because he thought someone saw him." I reply, shrugging.

Grinning, she says. "I'm proud of you, you can make your own trouble now!" She claps me on the back as she drags me to the bar. "Hey, Cora." She says.

"Good lord help you, what happened here?" She asks, gesturing to my bloodied face. "And I see it's true that we've got the double trouble back!" She exclaims, grinning from ear to ear at us both. "Come on through the back, I'll get you some ice in a tea towel, then you can be back on ya merry way." She tells us, ushering us behind the bar and into the freezer room.

She takes a spare tea towel and puts a handful of ice in it, twisting it tightly and putting a small metal wire round it to hold it closed. She hands it to me with a smile, one that both Bella and I return as I lift it and hold it to my face, wincing.

"I'll kill her if she does this to you again." Bella says, her voice deadly serious.

**Jacob*~**

"Yeah." I reply to Annie's question, wait, it's not Annie, shit what's her name!

She asked if Charlie knew that I slept over last night. "Okay, so the chief of police, the big bad Chief Swan just sent you off with his daughter and told you to get kinky?" Erin asks. Shit, that's not his name either is it.

I chuckle. "No, no kinky, he just said to go before he changed his mind." I tell him, and I can see where he was coming from, we could have been going anything and Charlie would be none the wiser.

I hear Jenna and Bella come out of the diner but don't turn as it wouldn't look normal since we're not facing them.

"Did you and Jake really have sex on my bed?" I hear Jenna ask.

"No, don't worry, I didn't drool on your pillow either." Bella replies, I can hear the grin as she speaks.

"Here they are." Jess says excitedly. Now, it's hard not to know her name since she makes so many crude comments that the others are always scolding her by snapping her own name at her.

Eric and Angela!

Sorry, just remembered their names.

Mike drops his head. "Can't wait." He says with a groan. "Shopping." He grumbles.

I laugh with Eric at this while the others glare at us. I'm the first to stop when I see that Bella's stepped away from Jenna, waiting for me to take her hand.

We all turn and walk in the direction of Mike's mom's car.

I take Bella's hand softly and use it to pull her to my side, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

"So, do you surf?" Eric asks me as we all walk.

I grin. "Almost everyone on the rez surfs." I tell him. "And believe me when I say they'll all be there." I add, watching as the pale faces get even paler. "Jen, is this the day that the guys from Phoenix were coming back?" I ask, suddenly remembering her talking to Skylar on the phone.

Jenna thinks for a while as Bella tenses beside me. I pull her closer to my side and drape my left arm over her shoulders. "Yeah." Jenna says finally.

"All of them?" Bella asks, she tries to sound casual but I can hear the fear in her voice. Does she know why they wouldn't help me look for her?

Jenna nods. "Yeah, and a couple of their new friends. Ten of them now." She says, and although it sounds like general conversation, I know she's telling Bella that four more kids have phased.

By the time we all get in the car, Bella and Jenna have been discussing the pack, never blowing the cover of them just being normal kids. We drive straight into town and are practically forced from the car by a shop-crazy Jess.

Jenna gets sent off with Jess and Angela on towel duty, Mike and Eric get sent for a volleyball, all random crap we might want at the beech, Bella and I get sent off to find me some trunks and her a bikini. Jenna announced in the car that she bought one before she met up with us, she then went on to show us all, it was blue with some logo on it, I didn't really look though, I didn't take my eyes off Bella.

According to Jess, we'll meet in the food court at ten and we'll all eat. Bella and Jenna smirk at me, both knowing how much food I can put away.

"Come on, then." Bella says, dragging me off by my hand.

I follow with a groan. "I hate shopping." I grumble.

Bella chuckles as I pull her to me, wrapping my arm around her as we walk. "Me too." She tells me.

About half an hour later, Bella's in one of the changing rooms, I'm the other side of the curtain so bored that I'm considering phasing just to get a few hours of commotion. "Bells, honey, you almost done?" I mumble, knowing she can hear me.

"Jake, you can see practically every single angry, red mark on my entire body." She says, and I know that means that she likes it but doesn't want to show her scars.

"You decent?" I ask, and I know what I've got to do, because I actually like that bikini, and I'm hungry, and there's a hotdog stand not five metres outside the door to the shop.

I hear a huff, the some shuffling, then a "Yeah."

"Good." I say, yanking thee curtain open.

Once it's open I can't so much as speak, I can only just breathe. "I know." She grumbles. "It's horrible." She adds.

That does it. "No!" I exclaim. "Jesus, Bella, you look gorgeous." I tell her sincerely.

"You have to say that, you're my imprint." She whines.

I shake my head. "Nope, I don't." I tell her. "If it looked horrible then I'd tell you, but it doesn't, you look stunning." I say.

With a groan she yanks the curtain shut. "Fine, I'll get this one, then we've got to get you some shorts and a hotdog before we find the others." She says, I can hear her grin as she mentions the hotdogs.

A second or so later she emerges fully clothed with bikini on the hanger.

We walk over to the counter, getting served by possibly the happiest looking woman I've ever come across. Once Bella's paid I pull her straight over to the hotdog stand and order two jumbo hotdogs, I hand the guy a ten, telling him to keep the change. He thanks me, handing me both hotdogs.

I hand one to Bella, chuckling as she takes a massive bite.

She laughs when I take an even bigger one.

By the time we've finished, we've still got twenty minutes to find me a pair of trunks. "Come on." Bella says, grabbing my hand and dragging me into the first shop that sells swim shorts. Between us we find three pairs that I find acceptable and Bella thinks are okay, so then I'm off to the changing rooms. I've got a blood-red pair, a deep forest green coloured pair, and a light grey pair.

The first pair are a disaster, they are horrible material. They make my dick itch, not nice!

The second pair are a little too long but the right size everywhere else.

The third pair, the second I step out of the changing room I see Bella's eyes widen a little. Good? Bad? "Well?" I ask her.

She just nods. "Those." She says, her eyes travelling over _every_ bit of me.

I notice some girls that have come with their brother or whatever are gawking at me. I quickly kiss Bella, my teeth tugging lightly on her bottom lip, her fingers trailing lightly over my abs before she pushes me away with a grin and close the curtain around me.

Chuckling, I get changed, clipping the trunks onto their hanger before going back out to join Bells. We walk up to the desk and pay before heading out of the shop.

Hand in hand, we walk to the food court and take a seat on a booth where Angela and Eric are sitting.

**Bella*~**

Eric and Angela both look up and smile as Jake and I sit down. "You guys found everything?" Angela asks sweetly as her eyes flit to the bags.

I nod with a groan. "Ooh, let me see!" Jenna exclaims, shoving me a little before sitting next to me on the booth and throwing her feet onto my lap. She's still holding the ice and towel up to her nose.

"You can see, but only if you give me that damn tea towel, just let me check to see if your nose is broken." I say, holding my hand out in front of me.

Groaning, she hands it over, wincing as I bring my fingers up to her nose. Okay, it's not looking great, just need to pop it back in place a little. I can feel Jake chuckling beside me as he gets a good glimpse of her nose, just for that I throw her bloody ice cloth thing at him. "Well?" Jenna says, wincing slightly.

"Well…" I say, then quickly click my right fingers above her head, getting her attention. While she's looking up at them I use my right hand and flick her nose back into place. Before she can cry out I put my hand over her mouth and the other on the back of her head, forcing her to stay quiet. "Sorry." I tell her as she curses into my palm. She uses a few more curse words such as cunt, dick, whore, bitch and others as she grumbles at me. I nod, taking it all in my stride. "Yeah, yeah, sorry, but you're fine now." I tell her, taking my hands away.

With an evil glare, she takes my bag from me and pulls my bikini out, studying it intently. "You chose this?" She questions, raising an eyebrow.

I nod, grimacing. "I know, it's gonna be like scar city, but hey, Jake told me that it looked okay!" I say, defending myself.

"You kidding?" Jess exclaims, walking over with Mike. "I was planning on being the hottest on the beech, but damn!" She says, what even?

Twenty minutes later we're on the beech. I go with Jenna, Jess and Angela to the changing rooms while Jake goes off with Mike and Eric to the other changing rooms.

We're all quick getting changed, Jake and I are done first though, probably since we've gotten used to it with phasing. "Okay, so it's ten dollars to hire a board, but if you've got a group of ten or over the they only charge you five each. Another five each for wetsuits." Mike says, he claps his hands expectantly.

I smirk. "Anyone got a spare couple of people just ready to pop up?" I tease lightly.

"They'll be here in a minute." Jenna says, shrugging casually.

Wait, who?

"And she lives!" comes a slightly pissed off voice, but a tender caring side shows too.

I spin on my heel to see four shirtless guys in trunks, then six girls in bikinis next to them. At the front of the group stands the cockiest shit I've ever seen in my life. I nod, confirming to her that I do in fact live.

"You know, we thought you were dead." She tells me matter-of-factly. "When you ran off, well, everyone was just a big fat mess." She says, she starts towards me too. "Not that you care!" She hisses.

"Sky!" Kyla snaps, I watch as she visibly recoils.

I take a long look at the four new editions, two guys and two girls, the three of them glare at me when I look them over.

"You got no one else to bother, Skylar?" I ask, my tone sounding playful despite the harsh bite.

"As a matter of fact, no." She says, walking towards me again. "You left us!" She hisses.

Okay, this is it, my chance to prove to them that I'm no traitor. "Yeah, but you're all stronger because of it." I reply, shrugging slightly. Okay, even I'll admit that was crap.

"Stronger my ass!" She snaps, her fist lunges, not quickly enough to catch me, but almost getting Jake as he goes to get between us.

Jake forces me behind him. "How about we all calm down." He suggests, a small hint at an alpha voice peeking through. "Maybe you should have tried following her, looking for her maybe." He adds, venom coating his tone. "I remember clearly how you all just stood there and watched while she ran off scared out of her brains, so let's all just back off, lets have a nice day surfing at the beech. Okay?"

"Now, that's a funny thing to bring up, why didn't we look for her?" Skylar hisses.

"Skylar." Kyla says calmly. "Just shut up and be thankful that she's okay." her eyes meet mine and she smiles. "It's great to see you again, Bells." She tells me. She shoves Skylar out of the way and waits for Jake to move before throwing her arms around me.

I smile as I wrap my arms around her slender muscled shoulders. "You too, Ky, you too." I tell her.

"Bella, the grey eyes are alive." She whispers suddenly. "I'm sorry, but they came to Phoenix, left the second they realised you weren't there." She adds.

I nod against her. "Okay, don't say anything to Jenna, but if it's me they want they they're gonna have some trouble." I whisper as quietly as I can. She raises an eyebrow. She's asking if I'm leaving again. I nod, grimacing as her smile falter a little.

"Don't celebrate too quickly." Jenna mutters, an acidic tinge to her voice. We all turn slightly and look at her. "What? It's not as if she's staying!" She snaps. "Why do you think dad went to work today?" She questions. Shit, this isn't how I wanted her to know. "It's because he can't handle to see you-"

"Oh, hush!" says an odd accent, cutting Jenna off mid-rant. "She didn't leave to hurt any of you. Poor little doggy was scared, right?" it continues. Whoever it is, they sound like the fucked up prince from Hell-boy 2.

I spin madly, trying in desperation to find the voice. "We all heard that, right?" I hiss. I know that voice, but I can't accept that that's who it is.

Everyone nods, the phoenix pack, Jake, Jenna and I all tense up, each of us trying to find the owner of the voice.

"Kyla?" comes a small voice. I turn to see one of the newly phased girls, her shaking has started.

"Jenna." comes the voice of Edward Cullen.

We all turn in time to see a body smash into his, the force taking them both to the floor. It's a female, but that's all I can tell before strong, familiar but wrong arms wrap around my waist, tugging me away. Matt. He leans in really close, so close that no one else can hear him. "He's here for you, they all are. We're outnumbered, you need to run." He whispers, releasing me quickly.

I nod, before I turn though I stalk over to Edward and Mariana who is somehow still undead and seriously, does this bitch not die? Kicking her in the ribs as hard as I can. He has enough time to get to his feet. "Keep her safe." I tell him. With that said, I turn on my heel and jog away.

"You're running off, again!" Skylar bellows, her tone pissed. "How in god's name can you be our rightful-"

_THWACK! _

Once I'm looking back at Skylar, she's holding her face, the left side covered in blood. And there he stands. "Good afternoon, Isabella." He says. "My name is Adrian, and I'd like a word with you." He tells me, stalking his way over.

"Like hell!" Jake bites out, ploughing full force into the guy.

The scuffle last a matter of seconds until Adrian gets bored and his fist comes down hard six times on the back of Jake's skull. "Now, Isabella, does anyone else need to get hurt?" He asks me, wiping a small amount of blood onto the pocket on his pants.

I notice the rest of the Cullens have arrived, they stand just like the rest of us, too in shock to do something. I don't answer, I just stare at Jake. Would it be worth it? Could I phase in front of all these people and get him to safety? "Well, Isabella, I can guarantee that we'll be seeing a lot more of one another. Your roommate was rather helpful, I must say."

And suddenly I'm angry. "You touch her and I'll kill you!" I hiss.

He just laughs. "Okay, well, don't worry. It's you I want anyway, you're my play thing, so relax. You're the only one that will get hurt." He hisses before he and the couple of others with him leave.

The second he's gone I'm over to Jake. I crouch next to him, touching my fingers gently to the back of his head, the wound's closed, but there's blood on him. "Jake." I whisper, suddenly feeling very small and oh so very helpless.

Next to me Carlisle now stands. "Do you mind?" He questions softly. I shake my head, falling backwards to sit by Jake's head, combing my fingers through his short hair. I put one hand on his shoulder, just touching him makes me feel a little better.

A few people that walk by stop and stare for a few seconds, but Skylar's bloody face mixed with her death glare has them on their way.

There's a deep groan from Jake, one that makes me laugh a little. "Ow." He complains.

Carlisle stands straight up, walking back to his family. "I'd recommend washing the blood away, but the cut was so small it's already started healing." He says with a friendly grin as he and his family -all but Alice, Jasper and Edward- walk away.

Jake puts both of his hands just in front of him, forcing his body from the ground in a press-up position. "Someone needs to kill that dick." He grumbles, a bloody line running across his face.

I chuckle lightly, crouching down beside him. As he stands, I put my hands on his bicep, holding him steady. Smiling, I pull a twenty dollar bill out of my bag, handing it to Jenna. "For me and Jake." I explain. "You know my size, and Jake's just a giant." I add, shrugging.

He nods. "It's true, I trample villages and stuff like that." He grumbles.

Jess takes my bag, telling me she'll put it with theirs in a locker.

Smiling, I tug Jake by his hand towards the water. He follows happily, not seeming bothered by his bloody face. "Come on, dick licker!" I yell to Skylar, remembering her bloody face. Smirking, she follows, jumping in front of Jake. He throws his arms out to stop her from falling, she takes her opportunity and he ends up carrying her bridal style.

I can't help but laugh at the look of pure terror on Jake's face. "Thanks, Loverboy." She says, relaxing, knowing he won't just drop her.

"Uh…" He says, looking to me for help.

I laugh, shrugging my shoulders.

"Hmm…" Skylar hums appreciatively, kicking her legs out and leaning back in Jake's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You simply have the cutest imprint ever." She says to me.

Jake turns to me. "Bells…?" He questions, I know he's uncomfortable, but I can't help but laugh just a little.

"Yeah?" I reply, smiling. "What's up?" I ask as I walk beside him. Confused, he looks from me to Skylar, then back to me again. I grin up at him. "We're almost by the water, then you'll be rid of her." I tell him, patting his shoulder comfortingly.

Skylar nods against Jake, closing her eyes. "It's true, I'm like a dog; it takes me a while to get in, but once I'm in you can't get me-"

"Nice to know." Jake says.

I see Skylar's eyes burst open as she realises just how close to the water we are. Just as a small wave crashes up to meet our shins, Jake literally throws her forwards. An enormous wave rushes forward and engulfs her before she can scream at him.

He turns to me, grinning like an idiot. "I don't know why you're laughing." He says, his hands grabbing my hips, pulling me flush against him. "You're next." He whispers into my neck, wrapping his arms around me, clamping my own to my side and picking me almost a foot from the ground.

Laughing, I bury my face in Jake's shoulder. "Don't." I mumble against his skin, though it comes out a little like a question.

"Don't?" He questions, I can hear his grin as he walks further into the water, the waves splashing up to the back of my knees.

Fuck, that was fucking cold!

I squeal into his neck, wriggling against him wildly. One of his arms drops round and supports me around my ass, holding me tightly against him. He growls an animalistic sound in my ear as he launches us both forwards, forcing me into the water. As my back hit's the sandy floor, I pull my face from his shoulder, opening my eyes -fuck it hurts- in the salty water and staring up at Jake.

His eyes open and his arms drop me, gently taking my face into his hands.

Quickly, he leans down and presses his lips to my own. It's a short, sweet kiss, but it makes me smile as Jake pushes against the floor, standing and pulling me with him.

Skylar stands a few feet away from us, rubbing the water against her face, ridding herself of the dried blood.

Once she and Jake have both got rid of all the blood on themselves, the three of us walk back up the beach, getting our wetsuits and boards from Jenna and Edward.

"Are you really leaving later?" Jenna asks me as I start pulling my wetsuit over my bikini.

I nod, smiling sadly at her. "Yeah, but this time I'll take my cell phone with me and I'll call you guys every day. I'm gone for six weeks, then I'll be back for good, okay?" I reply. She nods glumly. "Oh, and Cullen, you hurt my sister and I'll burn you to ashes and have some wolves piss on them." I say, looking directly to Edward.

He nods, smiling back at me. "I'd expect nothing less." He replies.

Jenna covers her face with her hands, grinning but groaning. "God, you're worse than Dad!" She snaps, shoving me as hard as she can… and getting nowhere by doing so.

**Well… that's chapter eight done and dusted. I know it was just a crappy filler, but I don't want to have important shit happening in every chapter, so there may be a few more of these from now on to make the story longer.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, thank you so much for the Favourites, Follows and Reviews, they all mean the absolut world to me. Seriously, when I check my emails and see that something has happened on my FF account I get so pleased! So, please keep doing what you do and I'll try to keep things good.**

**Also, so I decided that something needs to happen in this chapter, so yeah, here goes!**

***~Chapter 9*~**

**Bella*~**

We've all been trying desperately not to laugh at Jake and the other guys for about fifteen minutes now as Mike falls off his surfboard for the third time this minute.

Jake's doing well, he's moving in time with the board, but a massive wave smashes into the back on his board and he goes flailing into the water.

Before I have time to laugh, Jenna slaps my arm, standing up and holding her board. "Come on, shit face." She says, kicking me pretty hard before running off to where the small waves crash into the sand.

Grinning, I stand with my board and run after her. I like this. This is what I wanted my childhood to be like, and it was before I phased. I guess that's why I left though, so I could get away from it all, to just have some time to sit back and think.

I can hear the other girls laughing as they too stand and run after us both.

Jess sprints past me, throwing her board into the water and diving in after it.

Twenty minutes later, we're all swimming out with our boards. Jake and I work together as best we can, swimming strongly and pushing our boards beside one another. When we're far enough out, Jake asks me when I last surfred. I, in answer, raise a quizical eyebrow. "What?" he asks, grinning like a kid in a candy store.

"I haven't been back here long enough to even try to surf since I was about nine." I answer, shrugging as best I can whilst treading water.

I watch as Jenna moves to sit on her board, only to get shoved off my Eric who then proceeds to swim, grinning from ear to ear, over to Angela. Skylar looks at me before splashing me with water, getting my attention. "Go have fun, you damn scroodge!" she snaps playfully, knowing that since I phased, I haven't really had a social life. Not with anyone that wasn't in the pack anyway.

A few minutes later, both Jake and I are about fifty feet from the others in an open, deserted piece of water. We're both kneeling on our boards, facing one another and holding one another's hands in vice like grips. "You'll be fine." he tells me. "You just have to get from your knees to your feet, but you can't hold my hand." he says, and without even looking at him, I know he's grinning.

"Why not?" I ask, my eyes shut as I breathe in the ocean's scent.

I feel vibrations of his chuckles pass through our interlocked fingers as he speaks. "Because you'll pull us both off our boards." he tells me, slowly unthreading our fingers. I just grip his tigher with my own, pulling lightly against him. He chuckles as his board sails the small distance between us, bumping slightly when they meet.

Grinning, I open my eyes to see his already staring back at me.

Turns out that of all of us, River's the best at surfing, then Matt and Jake, then apparently it's somehow me... I was pretty damn confused when I stood up on the board and knew how to move with it. But you see, my fatal flaw is that I value others safety before my own, so all the while, I was watching Jenna and Jake to make sure they didn't hurt themselves. That resulted in me surfing straight into some rocks... turns out that falling on rocks gives you some damn nasty cuts that are pretty hard to hide while they heal.

"What time are you leaving, then?" Jenna asks me as she unzips my wetsuit.

Sighing, I reply. "A few hours. I'm gonna talk to Dad before I go."

"Done." she whispers. I turn and start doing hers. "Why are you leaving though?" she asks, her voice small and scared. "I mean, if you leave, then Adrian will follow, and even with Jake, he's strong. Stronger than you, and you'd be safer here."

"But you wouldn't." I tell her, leaving no room for arguement. "I do everything that I do in order to keep the people that I love safe, and if that means that I lose my life in the process then so be it." I hope that my tone shows that I've made my own decision and that I'm fine with it, does she know that I want nothing more than to stay here with her and Dad? But I know that I can't. Not yet.

She shakes her head in disbelief, laughing sadistically. "You're such an idiot sometimes." she grumbles as I finish unzipping her.

"Yeah, yeah." I mutter, knowing that if this conversation goes on for too long then I might decide to stay.

"You know why Kyla and the others are here, right?" she asks, sounding mega pissed off with me. I shake my head. "Because Jake got this feeling, he said that it was getting better. So, the second he went home with Billy, I called them, I told them you might be coming back and I prayed. I prayed that you'd come home, and you did, but now you're leaving again and I don't think he can take it again." by the time that she's finished speaking, we're both out of our wetsuits and pulling clothes on. "Kyla needs to talk to you by the way. She was gonna get you earlier, but when we all saw how happy Jake looked, none of us could do it." Is she trying to guilt me into staying by using Jacob?

I just nod my head, knowing that I should see how Kyla's doing in the role of alpha. And so, half an hour later all of the Phoenix pack stands in front of me as I stand beside Jake in the woods. Jenna, Edward and the others said they'd stay on the beech with the humans, keep an eye on them.

The new kids in the pack can't seem to take their eyes off me, and I can't quite decipher the look they're giving me. "Bells," Kyla says, her voice hard, but almost submissive sounding. "I can't do it." She tells me.

I raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" I ask her, knowing fully well that I chose her perfectly.

She glares at me, chilling me a little. "You know what I mean!" she snaps. "I can't deal with this, I'm not the alpha!"

"You're not the alpha because you can't get your head around it." I tell her stiffly. "And don't tell me you can't do it! I've been alpha since I was twelve, what's that hard to do? Every decision I made was run by you first, I've been prepping you for this since the day you phased, how-"

"You're the rightful alpha, Bella!" Skylar yells. "I get that you were shit scared, but you can't force my little sister to hold the weight of a pack on her shoulders!"

"No one's forcing her into anything, it's called delegation!" I hiss.

"She shouldn't have to delegate, you should man up and claim your rightful place." She says, her voice not angry, just not understanding.

I shake my head. "Is it so wrong that I just want to be normal for a little while?" I ask, needing to know. Needing an answer, any answer.

"You'll never be normal." River says. "None of us will. But, Bells, you can do it, you can just waltz back in and take over, but you can't just leave again. You can't just up and leave with nothing for us to go on."

"Everyday for three and a half years, I've phased. Every god damn day, and not once have I ever denied one of you a day off duty, a week away so you can go on holiday. I've missed every single family event since I was twelve for this pack! I know I'm being a bitch, I know that you all hate me for it, but I'm going back tonight and I'm gone for six weeks, then you can all hold me under lock and key again." I say, wanting nothing more than to be human, to be so very human. "For the past few weeks though... for the past few weeks I've practically been human, I've got a place, a job-"

"You're not human,though." Jacob whispers beside me. "So, how about you get your six weeks, but then you're back. Back for good. You step up as the alpha once again and you do your duty."

"Am I sensing some double standards, Jacob?" comes a new voice. We all turn to see one of the wolves from the La Push pack walking towards us, his small pack in tow. "Because if I recall quite right, the two of you are supposed to be the imprinted alpha pair that unite our packs." he says, getting closer until he's only five feet away.

"Sam." Jacob greets stiffly. The other one -Sam- nods in return.

"I'm not ready, Sam." He says after a second of silence.

I smile sadly, remembering saying those words to my mom the day I phased, and so, I reuse her words. "No one's ever ready, not for what they don't know. The one thing we've got on our side is time, though, and what else does it take?" My old pack look at me with sad smiles, knowing that conversation just as well as I do.

"Come on, Jacob, don't you want to make daddy proud?" One of the others taunts, grinning sarcastically at Jake.

"Fuck off, Paul!" Jacob spits, shaking a little as he talks. "Why don't you just keep your dumb ass out of this!" he snarls, his shaking getting worse by the second.

Paul smirks, seeing his opportunity to do some real damage. "How about you order me to stay out of it?" He challenges, taking a step closert to us. "Oh, what's that? You can't? Is that what you're saying?"

"How about Jacob talks alone with Sam, and I'll talk alone with Kyla." I suggest before Jake can reply, desperately not wanting a fight.

Reluctantly, everyone agrees with me, so Kyla and I make our way to my dad's place, while Jake and Sam go to Sam's place, knowing that there's no one in. The rest of the wolves were ordered by both alphas to stay put, only to move to find us if there was danger as we'd be back as soon as possible.

Quickly, I unlock the door. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." I gruble as I see Jenna, Edward, Alice, Jasper, Jess, Eric, Mike, and Angela, all sitting and talking right in the living room, in direct view of myself and Kyla. All of the vamps look subtly over to me, Edward smiling slightly as he sees the look of distaste on my face.

"Bells!" Jenna yells happily, shooting out of her patch on the floor that she was sitting on. "So, Mike was just saying that real late a month or so back, someone saw an enormous white bear, crazy right!" she exclaims, raising her eyebrow at me when the others can't see. "Hunting season too, they were gonna shoot it, but they say there were others!"

I nod, understanding that we were seen, but by who. "Damn, poor bears." is all I say.

"Yeah, but I recognised him earlier, it was that guy, Adam?" Mike says, looking to me suspiciously, probably wondering why Jenna practically yelled it at me. "No, Ad-"

"Adrian?" I cut it. He nods in reply. "Huh, wierd, well, I need to talk to Kyla, so yeah." I say, pointing to the stairs. She waves at Jenna before jogging up the stairs. I lock the door before following her.

"So, what's what?" I ask as we both sit in my room.

She sighs, it's a deep, stress filled sigh. "It's just too much. I mean, everyone's trying, I get that, but I'm not the natural leader. Everyone's getting away with more, taking advantage, you know? It's like they're all at school with a supply teacher, and when I set an order it never sticks for more than ten minutes. It's like I've got the wieght of the world on my shoulders, and when a vamp ran through they all just ran in, unorganised, and I couldn't do a thing to stop them. Oh, and they're talking about me, they're plotting, I can feel it. God! Bells, just help me, please, I-" She starts crying, tears streaming down her face, violent sobs ripping through her body. "I can't do it!" she exclaims, falling against me.

Quickly, I wrap my arms around her, knowing the exact feeling that she's got. "Ky, I swear that you're doing nothing wrong. If you pretend for a second that none of us have a shread of humanity in us, we're just wolves, okay?" I say, she nods against me as I rub her back soothingly. "Well, wolves are basically dogs, and dogs follow their master's orders, but if you were to change their master, then they're likely to test their limits until a firm foot is put down, until they're told off." I tell her.

"Bells-" She sobs, but I cut her off.

"If you seriously don't think you can do it, then okay. If you're desperate to step down then okay, but I'm leaving it up to you who you give it to, alright?" I say as gently as I can.

She sniffles a few times, her sobs becoming less frequent. "You?" she questions between hiccups and sniffles.

"What about me?" I reply.

"I want you to do it." she tells me sternly, pulling away and wiping her face. "I want you to be alpha again, so we're all safe."

"Ky, you should sleep on it. I'll phase tomorrow when I'm back at my place, then you guys can all phase, talk it all-"

"No, I'm demanding that it's you. I know for a fact that the six of us felt safe with you as our alpha, and the four new kids don't know it yet, but they will too."

"I'll be gone for six weeks." I argue.

She shrugs indifferently. "We'll come with you for a little while, camp out in the woods. It'll be great." and when I see the light in her eyes, I know I can't say no.

I find myself nodding. "Okay, but one condition." I say, smilinng as I get an idea.

She nods eagerly. "Anything." she answers truthfully.

"I'll talk to my boss and I want you guys in school for as long as we're there, or helping me, okay?" I say, knowing that the whole pack has missed way too much school since phasing. Kyla nods at me, grinning from ear to ear

"Bells!" Jenna yells from downstairs.

My protective nature kicks in just before Kyla's, both of us bursting through my door and practically leaping down the stairs. "Jens?" I question, my eyes flitting wildy around the room to see everyone else seated silently, all but Jenna who stands in front of me, about five feet away with a grin on her face and an unfolded piece of paper in her hand. "You okay?" I ask, still looking for what caused her to shout.

"Why does Jake get letters but I don't?" she asks, waving the sheet of paper in front of me.

Then I see red. "You went through my stuff?" I snap, snatching the sheet from her.

"I'm your sister, of course I did, but why's he the only one you wrote to?" she asks, unphased by me. "You're such a turd, you didn't even send me a cute little letter, I mean, why the hell not?" She says, grinning as I begin to shake. Without even thinking, I grab the bag, unzipped at her feet and crush the letter inside before zipping it up and making a beeline for the door, almost ripping it off its hinges.

"Stay the fuck off my things!" I hiss as it finally opens.

Kyla's close on my heels as I begin to jog for the woods. The second we're both out of sight we strip and phase, heading back towards where the others are. The others phase in as we reach them, Sam's pack included.

_**"So?"**_ Ash questions, not even bothering to hide the eager tone to her voice.

Kyla looks to me, silently asking if she should say anything. I nod, knowing that it's for the best. _**"With a little persuasion, Bella has agreed to be our alpha again."**_ She says, mentally grinning as some of the others yip and bark happily. Two of the new kids seem less than pleased though.

_**"Correct me if I'm wrong," **_ he hisses, crouching a little lower to the floor than usual, scrunching his face up into a snarl. _**"but didn't you leave us all to our own devices because some vamp came into town. How can we trust you to be our alpha if you run, leaving everybody because of a vampire?"**_ his voice is harsh as he stalks closer to me.

Without even speaking to me, Kyla steps away, the rest of the pack forming a circle with Sam's around the two of us. _**"Because I left to protect you all." **_ I tell him simply, saying nothing more.

He barks out a laugh, stalking closer again. _**"How are you all just sitting there and letting this happen?" **_He exclaims, turning to stare incredulously at the others, one by one.

_**"Because we know what an inredible alpha Bella is!" **_River snaps, snarling as she crouches, Matt following suit. Both of them ready to leap in and protect me at any minute. _**"Even after seeing first hand what the grey-eyes could do, even after having her ribs broken, she still lept in and took them head on, alone!"**_

_**"Because she's saved us countless times."**_

_**"Because she's the only one of us that can do it."**_

One by one, my pack take it in turns to say something about me, and by the end I feel at home

"Bella?" A voice says, a female one. Angela? What the hell?

I turn, the two packs standing puzzled behind me. Not fifteen feet away stands Angela, Mike, Jess and Eric. "Bells?" Comes a new voice, a sob.

_**"Jens!"**_ I snap, spinning wildly to find her. She's nowhere in sight.

_**"Bella!"**_ Jake's voice booms.

I spin in time to see the limp body of a wolf literally dropped fifty feet from the top of a tree. Another is dropped shortly after. Jacob and Sam. _**"Jake!"**_ I yell, darting over to him.

"So terrible." Comes a voice that I've come to hate. Adrian. "But here's the icing on the cake." He spits, from where I don't know.

"Bella! Come on, this isn't funny, where are you?" Kelsey?

"Bella!" Mom?

"Bells?" Dad?

"Bella?" Phil?

"Isabella?" Carlisle? Esme?

The packs circle our two wounded, keeping them safe as the enslaught of voices continues. Human voices of all of my loved ones flood my senses, each one of them stepping into view only a second later, each and every one seeing us.

It takes approximently ten seconds before almost all of them start screaming. Mike passes out, falling to a heap at Jess' feet.

"My, my, what's everyone doing here?" Adrian's voice booms. "Isabella?" He says, stepping into view beside my father. "Oh, Isabella, where are you?" he says sarcstically while pretending to search for me. "It's your own party, love, do please show yourself."

I stand tall and snarl in his direction. "Ah, there you are!" He exclaims with a shit eating grin as he points at me. I notice that Charlie's been cuffed with his own cuffs, small cuts and bruises covering his face. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to phase back and talk to me, then I'll consider letting your father live." He says, his voice so fucking chipper, I want to kill him.

Gently, I push my maw against Jacob's neck, inhaling his scent before letting my pack surround me, giving me as much privicy as I'll get. I phase back, ruffling Jake's fur while he breathes deeply, his eyes forcing themselves open a little to show so much regret. I smile as reassuringly as I can before tugging my clothes on and walking calmly out in front of my pack.

"We can talk when all of the humans are the other side of me." I say, my voice steely as I lock eyes with my father. He gives me a weak smile, probably not thinking that he'll make it to his next birthday.

Adrian looks at me with a smirk, it looks almost proud. "I don't think that you're in the position to be making those kinds of demands, do you?" he says, a hand clamping down onto my father's shoulder.

"What do you want?" I demand, keeping my eyes on Charlie.

Adrian chuckles, grinning at me while tightening his grip on my dad, making him wince slightly. "Isn't that much obvious, Isabella?" He asks me. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

"Obviously not." I reply, my eyes never leaving my dad's.

He nods, considering this for a second before his hand leaves Charlie's shoulder. "Fine, come and get your precious little humans." He says, his voice cold, collected. I start towards them, suddenly feeling extremely boxed in. "Don't worry," Adrian says, "they only bite when I tell them to." he adds, and suddenly I can see grey-eyed vamps everywhere behind him, an army of them.

I gasp, speeding up to my dad. My pack follow suit, gathering the humans who tremble at the sight of them but move with them anyway.

"Now, you've got what you want, isn't it time that I got what I came for?" He says, his voice on my neck. I spin, startled at the proximity, only to his his hand clamp on my shoulder and throw me ten feet into the air and straight into the sea of freaky vamps.

They all make a circle of grey-eyes around me, hissing and grinning as I turn, snarling at any that dares get closer to me. "Isabella, you must understand that I always get what I want, and right now, I want you." Adrian's voice echoes from every angle, making it impossible to find him. "So you have a choice, you can either come quietly and possibly see your family and friends again, or you can try and fight you way out of this. Just know that the second option would result in me forcing you to kill each and every last one of them so very slowly that you'd begin to crave it. Oh, and I'd save your dear Jacob for last, drive him completely out of his mind, have him beg me for death before I finally turn him and kill you, forcing him to live an eternity alone."

"You really do ramble on, huh." I mutter, still trying to find him.

I hear his sadistic chuckle. "Ashley," he says, my eyes grow wide with fear. "if you'd be so kind." he adds, and I can hear the grin in his voice.

Three whole seconds of absolut silence pass before the mass of vamps move aside to create a walkway for Ash. As she walks towards me, she put her hands to her face, her fingers going to her eyes, and a second later she pulls out a pair of contacts, dropping them on the forest floor.

Grey.

Her eyes are fucking grey!

A snarl rips through me. "You're one of them!" I hiss, my shoulders hunching as I try to control myself from leaping at her. "You bitch! I trusted you!" I scream, walking towards her.

Her face shows shock. "Bella, don't you understand?" She says. "You've been picked, it's an honor that you alone would be considered, but Adrian's considering the entire pack! Sam's too!" She yips excitedly, coming in my direction as if we're still good friends.

Just to get the point across, I phase and bolt at her. My front paws thump against her thighs as my jaw rips into her abdoman. Her hand shoots into the back of my neck before she throws me to the side like a rag. Like I'm weightless. I twist in the air, crashing through two trees but still landing on my feet. A growl radiates from me, through my pack. I keep them blocked out of my head, but tell them all not to attack.

The second I'm standing properly I bolt again. This time, her hand comes up and smashes me aside before I can even sink my teeth into her.

I don't manage to turn this time, smashing through over five trees with my back. Three of them fall on my side, knocking the wind out of me before I can stand again. Kyla and Skylar bolt over to me, both using their teeth to bite into the trees in order to roll them off me.

_**"Away!"**_ I command with a snarl. They both whimper in frustration but back away as I commanded, their bellies close to the ground as they obey me. Carefully, slowly, I lift my chest from the ground, the enormous trees -now nothing but logs- roll painfully down my back to hold my hips to the floor.

"Isabella," Adrian's voice rings through my head. I watch as my pack look around anxiously, hearing him too through the pack mind. "None of this needs to happen." He tells me, appearing from the sea of vamps to grab each of the tree stumps one by one and throwing them from my back as if they're hair on his clothes. Lighter than a feather. "Join my pack, and in time, the rest of your friends may follow. The power is something that you could only imagine!"

_**"Bella..." **_Jacob's voice is faint in my head, but it gives me strength. Without so much as a second thought, I summon all of my strength and throw myself into leaping at Adrian as he steps close enough. My paws connect with his chest, roughly jolting my joints when he doesn't budge even a tiny bit.

His hands shoot up and his fingers go straight through my forearms. I howl in pain as he twists his fingers around in my flesh. I hear the cries of my family, Jenna struggling wildly against Edward who just keeps whispering to her how it'll be okay, that I'll be fine. Liar. "Tell me when to stop." Adrian says simply. He then nods to one of his pack, who proceeds to bolt off into the woods.

Slowly, his fingers begin to move closer into a fist around my bones. I howl and cry out at the top of my lungs.

My pack leap into action, but every single one of them is pinned to the floor, lying on their stomachs and growling within two seconds thanks to Adrien's pack of freaks. "Don't make me prove how far I would go to get what I want." He hisses, his fingers crushing the bones in my left front leg to smitherines.

Adrian releases me as I stop fighting, falling helplessly onto my side, whimpering in pain. The screams of my pack barely reach me, but Jacob's are like a cars' horn right before it hits you. Blaring. _**"Bella!"**_

Something's thrown over me almost a second before I phase back, needing to have my mind back to myself again. I look down my body to see that a wool blanket was what one of the vamps threw over me. The same one that covered me with the blanket that my grandmother made for Jenna and me walks over to where Skylar's being held down and drops a shirt and some shorts in front of her.

My breathing is ragged as Adrian says something to Skylar, but I don't listen as my eyes meet Jacob's steady gaze.

I lie still, unable to push myself anywhere with my shattered wrist and torn up arm.

Skylar phases back, pulling her clothes on before walking over to me, the vamp that tackled her staying close. "You expect me to do anything with you breathing down my neck!" She hisses, turning with a tear stained face to snarl at him.

He smirks, stepping closer to her, invading her much loved personal space. "I don't breathe." He breathes somewhat ironically, grinning when she shivers in disgust at his cold breath. "Tick tock, wouldn't want your precious alpha to bleed out, now would we?" He questions, both their eyes flitting to me as he makes no move to back away from her. When Skylar continues snarling, he rolls his eyes, speaking again. "I'm happily imprinted, have been for over fifteen years, so I have no reason to be sneaking peeks at a child." He explains, flicking his hand in my directions. "Would it make you feel better if I turned around?"

"It'd make me feel better if her pack could stand around her to-"

"Fine. Just get clothes on her back, and get her on her feet." Adrian snaps, growing impatient.

My pack are released by the grey-eyes, Sam's too.

Jacob is the first up, bolting over to me and phasing back right in front of me, yanking his shorts up and falling to his knees. "Bells..." He whimpers, his hands hovering helplessly over me, unsure of what to do.

Through my pain, I feel pride. Pride as my pack and Sam's stand tall together and form a protective circle around me, snarling all the while. Skylar comes to my side and kneels with Jacob. "I'll hold her up, you help her." She says, her voice cracking as she looks me over.

Two painful minutes later, I'm clothed and in Jacob's arms. He's sitting with my sideways in his lap, my head on his left shoulder and my bloody arms across his chest. His voice cracks every so often as he whispers that it'll be alright over and over again, his tears slipping down his cheeks before I reach up with the better of my two arms and wiping them away.

Slowly, Jacob slips one arms under my legs and one round my shoulders before he leans forwards, getting to his knees, then his feet. "That first night, when I was still humn," He says, and though his eyes never leave mine, he's not speaking to me. "Why were you here?" He asks, his voice a mix of anger and confusion.

"We needed to know if she was ready, and we realised that she was when she dropped everything to protect you. It was the way that despite what Mariana had done to her, she stood as if nothing was wrong, she knew that you were her imprint and she was willing to do anything to protect you, whatever the cost." Adrian replies, his voice almost showing admiration.

Jacob nods, taking this in before replying. "And what if I say you can't have her?"

"The we'll take her by force." The other one says, stepping closer to Jacob and me.

My pack snarls in response, surrounding Jacob and me once more. "Jamie, play nicely." Adrian scolds, grabbing the younger looking vamp, but that's when it hits me. I've been calling them vamps all this time, but this guy, Jamie, he's imprinted, and Adrain refers to them as a pack.

"What are you?" I croak, my voice thick with pain.

"Frustrated." Adrian replies, evading the real question. "I'm tiring of these questions. Fall back!" He booms.

Within two seconds, every single one of them is gone, all but Adrian. "My dear Isabella," he says, causing the packs to snarl. "I'll be back for you." he adds before turning and speeding off so quickly that he may as well have teleported.

That's when I stop. I stop being the alpha, I stop being strong and I stop being so damn stubborn. I cry. "It hurts so fucking much." I mumble to Jacob as he holds me closer to his chest.

"Jacob." Carlisle says, grabbing everyone's attention from where he's got his hand on Charlie's shoulder. Charlie's slumped over, still on his knees, but with a murderous look in his eyes, staring off after where Adrian and his 'pack' left -including Ashley. "Bring her to my family's house, I'll treat her. Emmett, bring everyone home, I think that there's some explaining to be done." He finishes before turning and motioning for Jacob to follow him as I sob quietly.

Carefully, Jacob begins jogging, Carlisle an Rosalie keeping up with ease. A minute or so later, Jacob's at a full sprint until we reach the Cullens mansion. "Bring her up to the operating room." Rosalie says, her voice surprisingly soft.

Jacob does as he's told, placing me carefully on the cold metal operating table. He then places both of his hands on my shoulders, kneeling down to bring our heads to the same level. Neither of us say anything as Carlisle takes my left arm, inspecting it, or as Rosalie take my right arm. We're both silent as the two of them check my ribs over.

I don't really listen as they tell me what's broken, but Jacob does, he nods when Carlisle hands him bottles of pills, giving him times to get me to take them. "Bells," Jake whispers soothingly as his right hand cups my cheek while he stands at the side of the table. I hum a little to let him know that I'm listening. "Doc's gonna have to reset the bones in your left arm, okay, honey?" he says, his voice breaking me as he speaks. I just nod, knowing that it's got to be done.

I scream as Carlisle makes quick work of breaking my bones, and when I say that I scream, I mean that really do well and truly scream as loud as I can, not caring if anyone hears me.

Half an hour later Carlisle is completely done and I'm all patched up as Jacob wraps his arms around me and picks me gently off the table. My eyes close of their own accord as the days events begin to take their toll on me. Shit, I really am tired. "Everyone's just arrived." Rosalie says, softly touching my arm. I barely manage to nod before Jacob thanks her, carrying me down the magnificent staircase that I didn't notice on the way in.

First, in walks Edward with a crying Jenna, his hand on her back in between her shoulder blades. They're soon followed by my mom, my dad, Phil and the other humans. Both packs file in afterwards, Sam pushing Billy in with a couple of other council members that I recognise, one of which is Harry that I met at the bonfire.

"You want to walk?" Jacob whispers sweetly. I nod, smiling as he places me down, but takes my left arm in his own and places his right hand on my right hip, steadying me as I walk.

Kyla's the first to notice me, storming over and yanking me into a hug. I wince at her strength against my wounds, but hold her close despite the agonising pain rippling through me when she tries to losen her grip. "You scared the crap out of me." She whispers, on the brink of tears as she speaks. The rest of my pack -aside from the new kids- surround the two of us before pulling us both and Jacob into a tight, warm embrace that is full of tears and sniffles, laughs and sobs.

When we all part, Jacob resumes his stance behind me, rubbing my hip with his thumb through my shirt that's slightly soaked with my own blood. A few hugs later from family, everyone is seated either on the floor, the couch or dining table chairs as we all begin to explain things to the humans. I think this might be the first time that even Jenna hears it all.

"This is crazy." Kelsey mumbles when Billy's story telling finally get to the wolves and the cold ones. "Seriously, I don't know what's crazier." She hisses, standing up and running a hand through her ginger hair. "The fact that you're telling me that my roommate's a werewolf, or that you're all taking this so calmly! I mean, seriously, am I the only one freaking the hell out?"

"I know this is crazy." I say from my perch on Jacob's lap, but I don't move to console her in fear of scaring her even more. "But I don't think anyone is taking this calmly, they're all just too confused to say something." I tell her.

"Then can you just tell us what's happening? And I'm sorry, but I don't want stories or legends because I'm freaking the fuck out with all of this! Can you please just tell me what the hell is going on and why you called me?"

"I called you last night because you told me to, so I did." I tell her, looking a little puzzled.

She shakes her head. "No, I mean this morning at like six, why did you call me and say you were in hospital?" She questions.

**Jacob*~**

I kind of zone out a little as they talk about who did and didn't call who when, but my ears perk back up when Kelsey asks Bella through her tears to explain everything.

Bells nods against me and leans away from me a little, my head no longer burried in her back. "Okay, well we're werewolves." she says smiply.

Kelsey nods. "Okay, but, what if you'd have bitten one of the kids at the school? Oh god, what if you'd have made one of them like this! How would I explain that to parents?"

"It doesn't work quite like that." I chip in. Kelsey looks at me, her eyes showing both fear and a thirst for knowledge. "You don't get bitten, but if you do it doesn't do anything." I tell her. "With our kind, you're either a wolf or you're not, right." I say, squeezing Bella a little in question.

She nods. "Yeah, it's all about genes."

"So why's Jenna not like you?" Jess asks, her voice cutting, as if she's being told a load of bullshit. "I mean, you're identical twins, right? So why's she human, and you're whatever you are."

"Well, we don't know." Jenna chips in. "We figure that it's only one in each family, but then both Kyla and Skylar phased, so we think that Bella just got the gene and I didn't. Nothing more to it."

"Phased?" Mike asks, his voice shaking.

"Changing." Marcus supplies. "Into a wolf." He adds, making sure that we're all on the same page.

Half an hour later, Kelsey's on the phone to her boss. "Hey, Brenda." She says, her throat tight with the crying she's been doing. "Yeah, I'm just calling to say that Bella and I have both got a pretty nasty bug, I had it yesterday and I guess she's just picked it up... Yeah, sorry... No, we're both fine, just don't want to give it to the kids... Yeah, we should be back in a couple of weeks... Yeah, we'll be back after the holidays." a minute or so she hangs the phone up, running her hands through her hair.

Skylar helps Bella up to have a shower and Alice sprints over to her house and grabs her a change of her own clothes, Batman converse and all.

To ease the tension, Marcus tells us all a story of how Bella chased a vamp for eight hours once before she realised it was dressed like a clown, at which point she started laughing so badly that she fell over and rolled into a lake that some people were fishing in. The people were drunk out of their minds and only nodded at her, while she nodded back and carried on laughing as she dragged herself into cover.

"She got caught in a hunting snare once, too." Jenna adds.

"What!?" her mother sobs.

Jenna nods, smiling fondly at the memory. "Yeah, that's why she's got that scar all the way round her left ankle. She says she was just running and she was suddenly dangling by one of her legs."

Kelsey snorts out a laugh.

"She's always been a joker." River says, Matt grins and nods in agreement. "On my fifteenth birthday, she sent me a picture message, when I opened it, it was just her in a clown nose with a pink spotted party hat and she was wrapped completely from head to toe in banners that said happy birthday on them." She says. Jenna grins before laughing a little, saying that she remembers taking the photo, and telling us that she had to wrap Bella up in the banners. "She was phased." River supplies, and we're all suddenly laughing at the thought of Bella, phased with a party hat, a red nose and wrapped in banners.

"You still have the photo?" I ask with a chuckle.

She nods, grinning at me as she takes a cell out of a backpack that Matt's got. She then taps the screen a few times before throwing the cell at me. I catch it... then almost drop it as my laughter takes over. The photo is seriously just too hilarious.

Matt whispers something to River, she laughs. "Yeah." She replies. "Matt says that there was that one time that Skylar bet Bells fifty bucks that she couldn't climb a tree while she was phased." She says, and she and Matt burst into laughter. Marcus soon joins in too.

"Oh yeah!" One of the new guys says. "You guys showed us that a couple of days ago."

"It was hard." Bella's voice comes from the doorway. We all spin round to look at her as Kyla helps her over to me, where she plops down on the floor in front of me, her shoulders between my legs. "Took me three hours to get up that thing." She grumbles, a small smile coming up.

"But she got fifty dollars out of me." Skylar says.

"Worth it." Bella supplies with a grin.

**Well, that's the end of this chapter... what do you think?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alrighty then, I'm back with chapter ten, I hope you guys are still reading. I don't really have anything to blab on about except the fact that this is just a filler, so away we go!**

**~*Chapter 10*~**

**Jacob*~**

I wake with a groan, stretching my arms out to the side only to feel someone else's shoulder come into contact with my hand.

My eyes shoot open to see Skylar snoring away not two feet away from me. I hear a chuckle from across the room and see Bella standing in the doorway of the Cullens living room.

When it became obvious last night that we wouldn't all be able to get home safely without anyone worrying, Carlisle suggested that we all just stayed here. Esme looked like a giddy school kid as she finally got to use all of the duvets and things that she'd bought but never needed. I've got to admit that it made me smile, seeing her so happy, so human.

Grinning, I stand, making note that Bella's family are asleep, so is my dad, I walk over towards her. "Morning." I grumble.

"Hey." she whispers, looking loads better than yesterday. Her arms wrap around my middle, pulling me into her as she lays her head down on my chest, breathing my scent in. I place my arms around her back, holding her tightly to me while I place a kiss on her forehead.

"How are your stitches?" I ask her, my lips brushing against her skin as I speak.

She groans almost tiredly against my chest. "Icky." She grumbles. "But, do you wanna see something awesome?" She asks me, a hopeful side to her voice as she pulls her head off my chest. Happy to see her smiling even after yesterday, I nod.

Taking my right hand in her left one, she pulls me through the Cullen house, through the kitchen -where we're greeted by all of them- and into the back yard. Since they live in the woods, their back yard is basically a beautiful garden that is met by the trees about twenty meters back. On the freshly cut grass is Kelsey, she's doubled over, laughing at something. "Just wait." Bella tells me, her hand squeezing mine.

Nodding, I wait until I hear the thundering of clumsy paws. Only a second later, Marcus bursts out of the woods, phased with a stick in his mouth. "What the-"

"Imprinted." Bella supplies. "It's making her laugh, so he's gonna carry on doing it."

Marcus skids to a halt in front of Kelsey and drops the stick at his feet, taking the common playing stance of a dog and wagging his tail. She laughs as she picks the stick from the floor, raising her arm and throwing it as far as she can. It flies into the woods again, and Marcus disappears along with it, shooting after it.

One of the new kids, the one that started getting shitty with Bella yesterday, walks over to us. "Hey," he says, his head hanging. "listen, I'm sorry about yesterday, I just don't really get what's going on yet, I panicked and I knew you could take it. I swear, I'm not a complete asshole, I just don't quite understand." he finishes speaking, his eyes trained on the floor.

Bella grins, shaking her head. "No worries, and hey, you'll never get anywhere in life if you don't challenge the system." She replies, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up about it." She tells him softly.

He picks his eyes up off the floor, looking at her. "Thanks." He whispers before jogging off to join the other new kids.

"I don't think I could have wished for a better pack." Bella whispers to me, leaning into my chest. "Come on, my arms are fine and I'm bored of stitches." she says suddenly, yanking her clothes off and phasing before I can reply.

Grinning, I pull my shorts off and phase beside her. _**"Carlisle's gonna kill you for that." **_I tell her, nudging her shoulder with my own.

She shrugs with a smile. _**"Yeah, I know. Come with me though, I've got an idea." **_She mentally grins at whatever she's planning, walking calmly back in the direction of the Cullens house. The vamps watch with suspicious eyes as Bella wipes her paws on the matt outside the door before stepping into the house. Edward raises an eyebrow, Bella just smiles and carries on walking.

I follow suit, wiping my paws thoroughly before following her. As she walks, her hide hits a table with vases on it. One topples, so I catch it between my teeth. I nod politely to all of the vamps and take in their amused smirks before carrying on following Bella. "Jacob, you want to hand me the vase?" Edward asks, a smirk tugging at his lips. Bella stands still, waiting for me to turn around, so I do, dropping the slobber covered vase in Edward's hands.

He just laughs, taking it to the sink.

With another nod, I turn back around, following her as she wanders into the living room.

**Bella*~**

"Bells?" my dad grumbles groggily, wiping his eyes. A few of the other humans are awake, all of them staring at me. My dad clocks what I'm planning straight away. "No, last time she almost had a panic attack." He says, his voice waking Billy and Harry.

Billy chuckles at the sight of Jacob and me. Jess, Mike, Eric and Angela look at us, unsure whether to smile or to piss themselves. "Bella." Dad warns as I near the couch that Skylar's lying on. "Bells, no." he says, his tone almost pleading.

"What's she doing?" Angela questions.

My dad huffs out a large breath before replying. "She and Skylar are always trying to get one up on one another, they've taken to burying each other recently." He says, and this time, Jess laughs, falling off her seat with a slight thud. The entire room goes completely silent as Skylar grumbles in her sleep, rolling onto her other side.

_**"You're gonna bury her?" **_Jake questions, raising an eyebrow when I look at him. I just nod in reply. He shakes his head, grinning. _**"I'll go start digging a hole."**_ He says, a smirk taking over his face.

_**"Thanks."**_ I say, smiling softly at him before turning back to Skylar, walking over to where she's snoring away happily and sit in the center of the room, deciding how to do this.

"You're burying Sky?" River questions, her eyes not open as she leans against Matt's chest, but I can practically feel her rolling her eyes. It's not even so much a question anymore as she knows the answer already. "Drag her by the belt loops in her shorts." She suggests, her eyes opening as she starts shaking Matt awake.

He groans, his voice groggy and deep. He grins when he sees me opening my mouth a little, leaning towards Skylar. He taps River, raising an eyebrow. Moaning, she pulls a five dollar bill from her pocket, handing it to him before punching him in the arm. When everyone looks at them funny, she says, "I bet him that Sky would bury Bells next." She speaks as if it's just an everyday occourance.

Carefully, I close my maw around Skylar's side, unable to get a belt loop. When it becomes obvious that I won't be able to get her anywhere like this, I bite her shoe, pulling her a little by that. But seriously, it stinks. With a grin, I pull her off the couch, freezing when her head makes a thudding sound on the floor.

Again, everyone goes silent as I pull on her foot, walking backwards through the Cullen house. All of the humans and pack members stand, following me outside.

Marcus and Kelsey both stop playing fetch when they see me. "Is that Skylar?" Kelsey asks, Marcus nods, grinning. I carry on in Jacob's directions, stopping when my hide smacks against his chest. I drop her foot, turning to look at him, he's covered in soil and mud from head to toe. Thankfully, he had the common sense not to dig in the garden, the hole's a few metres into the woods.

"You seriously just bury each other?" Sam asks from behind me. I turn to him, nodding before pulling on Sky's shoe again until she's right next to the ditch.

Quickly, so she doesn't have time to react, I push her with my front paws, using my hide to push the pile of soil to fall on her, covering her completely. I grin as I hear her shout. "Bitch!" she yells, then the soil is flying everywhere as a grey wolf bursts from the hole.

I turn on my heel, hopping backwards as she makes a playful lunge at me. One of her paws hurtles for me, but I duck then smack her like a human with one of my own paws, laughing as she looks at me, befuddled. _**"Come on, Sky, getting slow?"**_ I ask, smirking as she snarls.

I skip around, dodging her snaps, jumping over her when she lunges.

We skips about a little, joking around for about ten minutes until I pretend to hide behind Billy, Sky looks at me with a raised eyebrow. _**"You best get running, Swan, I'll chase your ass up a tree!"**_ She barks, pretending to lunge forwards. I don't realise until it's too late, shooting a few feet away. My eyes widen as Skylar leaps over Billy, tackling me to the ground.

The two of us roll, crashing into a tree before we're both back on our feet.

We scuffle without a care in the world for over an hour until Esme says that she's made breakfast, needless to say the entire pack is gone within seconds leaving me standing with Jacob while the humans make their way inside. _**"You hungry?" **_He asks me once we're the only ones phased.

I shake my head, not knowing if I can stomach anything after yesterday. My stomach and back aren't too great after being thrown into trees. _**"No, but I'll come sit with you while you have something."**_ I reply, sitting at the edge of the woods with him standing beside me.

Grinning, Jacob shakes his head, walking backwards into the woods with a raised eyebrow, asking if I'll follow him. _**"You coming?"**_ He asks me when I don't move, dissappearing into the woodland.

_**"Jake..."**_ I say, trailing off as I turn to look at where all of the others are piling food on their plates. In the mass of people Skylar catches my eye, already looking at me. With a grin the size of Jupiter, she nods in Jake's directions, mouthing 'go', and so I do. With a grin of my own, I nod, turning into the woods and bounding off after him. _**"Coming."**_ I say as I catch sight of Jacob's russet-red fur, blending effortlessly into the wet bark on the trees around us.

Together, we wander quietly through the woods, getting further and further away from the Cullens mansion until we reach a large, clean body of water. We both phase back, not bothering with pulling shorts on -and in my case a shirt- before wading waist deep into the water. "How are you doing?" Jake asks me as we wade further.

"Fine." I reply, after all why wouldn't I be?

He looks at me, I mean _really_ looks at me. "Bells, after yesterday you can't be fine." He whispers, gently taking my hands. Great, is he calling me weak? I guess he is, especially since I got my ass kicked yesterday by a fifteen year old werewolf that's in a pack full of freaky grey eyed vamps that are super mega evil and want me to join them because they claim that I'm strong... even though they handed my ass to me on a metaphorical plate. Why the fuck would I not be fine? Oh, and let's not forget that every human that I care about even the slightest bit now know what I am!

"I'm fine." I say, though it comes out a little snappy. I can't meet Jake's eyes as he talks because he's right, I'm not fine.

I close my eyes as Jake's arms curl around my back and he pulls me to him, resting his forehead on my shoulder. "I'm fine." I repeat, my voice shaking just as a tear trickles onto my cheek. Jake nods gently against me, his large, firm hands running from the base of my spine up to my shoulderblades, then back down again in a slow, soft motion that has my body leaning further into him, pressing our naked bodies together _everywhere_.

We're up to Jake's chest in the water, so only a centimetre or so below my shoulders.

His lips are so very soft as he turns his head on my shoulder and presses them to my neck.

The way my body reacts to his touch would be embarrassing in any other situation, but not now, not when it's just the two of us, not when I'm too broken to care. "How could she do it?" I ask him, my mind suddenly pinned on Ashley. "How could she do that to us?"

"I don't know, honey." Jake replies, his tone so soft that it makes me wonder why I ever worried about anything.

His fingers burn a scorching hot trail as the curl just above my ass, one hand holding my hip while the other continues to run up and down my back. "How do we all carry on? They're all looking to me, Jake. I can't let myself break, if I break then so does the rest of the pack." My voice just doesn't stop, and Jake lets me ramble. "I couldn't even tell that she wasn't one of us, what if the others aren't? Jake, I don't know what to do!" I hiss, smacking my hands against his chest. "Who do I trust?"

"Me." Jake's answer is simple. "Trust me." He whispers, his voice sending shivers through me as he picks his head up to show his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. Slowly he leans down until our lips meet in a soft, much needed reunion.

I sigh, nowhere near calm, but calm enough to let this happen.

"Do you trust me?" He grumbles against my lips.

I nod, not even needing to think about it.

Gently, I wrap my arms around Jake's neck and pull myself up to wrap my legs around his waist. We both seem to be suddenly aware of our crotches being oh so very naked as Jake's manhood touches me _there _and I gasp. We're not even doing anything and this is closest we've come to having sex. Slowly, our lips part and our eyes lock on tight to one another. "We should probably get back." Jake says, his eyes showing what looks like hurt as he speaks.

Okay, I'll admit that I'm a little confused right now, especially since well... I figured we'd be, you know... doing it.

I find myself pulling his lips back to my own in a slow, loving act. We stay like that, kissing tenderly for what feels like hours of bliss, but I know we've only been like that for a couple of minutes. As we break away, Jake presses his forehead against my own, sighing in contentment. "You ready?" He whispers. I nod, not really wanting to leave this place, but knowing that it's time to go.

Slowly, we phase -grabbing our clothes from the floor- and wander back towards the Cullens house, walking at a humanly slow pace, neither of us speeding up for anything. By the time we get back some of the others are lying on the lawn, a couple of the humans asking questions to the wolves and vamps.

My dad notices us first, smiling as he sits with Billy, Harry, my mom, Phil, Carlisle, and Esme. The seven of them look over to Jake and me as we plod over, neither of us phasing back. Jake splits off to where Sam stands with his clothes, while I wander over to my parents and sit beside my dad's chair. "Bells." Dad greets, smiling happily at me. I smile back, flopping my head onto his shoulder, making him chuckle.

"Bella," Harry says. I don't move my head, but I do look at him. "The six of us have just been discussing the idea of the packs training with the Cullen family. If anything, yesterday was just the beginning of what could spiral out of control very quickly unless the packs can protect you better." He says, his voice stern, yet fatherly.

Protect me? I'm not some helpless child! I don't phase back, so I just nod a little in answer, taking my head off of Charlie's shoulder and sitting up straight. "We think that the best ways for the packs to learn about how vampires move is to watch the Cullens fighting, then the packs take turns training with them." Billy says, his tone leaving no room for dicussion. I nod, not arguing at all. But hang on, they weren't normal vamps though...

"Bella's worried about their abilities." Edward says, "Or that's what I got." He adds, coming to stand with us with Jenna. Jens leans on me, ruffling my fur with a caring smile.

I nod at Edward. _"I'm gonna get my clothes."_ I think, praying that he hears. I still don't like the idea that he can read minds, and since I only got told this morning, I'm still getting used to it. He nods, telling me that he has. Quickly, I turn and shoot to where my clothes still lie in a pile, dragging them behind a tree before phasing back in and pulling them on with speed about my every move. The second I'm done, I jog back over to where they're still sitting.

Everyone gathers round, coming to listen. "So, what are they?" I ask, speaking before anyone else can.

"Vampires." Cage-fighter says as if it's obvious.

I nod. "Explain Ashley then." I reply. "And their scent. And their eyes. How about their strength?"

"Explain what they did to our alpha." Skylar sneers, getting snappy already.

He shrugs, effectively saying that it's not his problem.

"What if they're not vampires." River says, looking at Matt while she speaks. He's signing and she's speaking for him. "Ashley could phase like one of us, but she could run and fight like one of them. Adrian called them his pack, and that Jamie guy was imprinted." She says, raising her eyebrow as she speaks. "A pack implies that they can all phase, that they're all like Ashley. What if they're not vampires, not werewolves, but both."

Jasper shakes his head dismissively. "It's not possible." He says. "It's not a physical possibility. If a vampire bites a werewolf then they die, if a wolf bites a vampire nothing happens. How are you proposing that it happened?"

Everyone's silent for a second, until one of the new kids speaks up. His name's Simon. "What would happen if a pregnant woman was bitten?" he asks, his voice small, unsure. "I mean, if she was pregnant with one of us, what would happen?" His voice squeeks a little, on the verge of breaking. Poor kid.

"A hybrid." Embery says, his voice sounding as if he's in awe of the idea. "So if it was like the film Underworld with Kate Beckensale in the leather," he gets a few odd looks, but we all hear him out. "Scott Speedman plays a hybrid-"

"He plays a hybrid because she bites him." Kyla cuts in. "Not the same."

"Quite frankly, I don't give a shit how it happened. I just want to know what the fuck they are." Paul says, his voice nearing a snarl.

Carlisle and Edward share look, neither of them sharing with us though. "What?" I ask, getting Edward's attention. He shakes his head, telling me to drop it. "Come on, nothing's set in stone here, but I sure as hell want to know what's coming for me." I say, making a few people wince as I remind everyone what yesterday was really about. The fact that this psycho has some obsession with me at the moment, and that he's strong enough to take down my entire pack alone. "They threw me around like an unwanted toy, if you've got something to share then I'd like to know." I add, feeling like I might burst for some reason.

"Vampires have a kind of royalty," Carlisle starts. "I was thinking that they might have some insight into something like this, but they won't speak with werewolves, in fact, one of their members has dedicated his life to the eradication of your kind." He says, his voice thick with sorrow.

Skylar grumbles behind me. "Sounds like fun." cracking her knuckles as she speaks.

"Sky." I say, letting her know to shut up. She doesn't say anything else.

Carlisle goes on to tell us about the Volturi who are effectively vampire royalty. Each member posesses a certain gift that makes them as a whole the most powerful vampire coven on earth, meaning that if there is ever a time where a certain vampire or coven cause too much trouble, they are disposed of. After an hour or so, everyone's tired of hearing about things more powerful than us, so we settle for starting training with the Cullens.

Esme finds some tape and makes a circle that's ten metres from the centre in every direction. Since no one particularly wants a real fight, all we have to do is get our opponent out of the circle before they do with us. The only rules are that for the vamps they can't break us too much, and we can't rip any limbs off or burn them. Fair play I think.

The packs retreat to the woods, each of us taking our clothes off and phasing before rejoining everyone again.

"Okay, who first?" Billy says, clapping his hands happily. "I suggest that we start with either two wolves, or two Cullens." He adds, avoiding the word 'vamps'.

Carlisle suggests that two wolves from opposite pack go first. Sam nods, telling Embry to go. Everyone looks at me, waiting for my decision. I nod to Marcus, telling him to fight smart and stay light on his feet. Kelsey's eyes go a little wide as he steps in, but she tries not to show how worried she is about a seventeen year old boy.

Grinning like an idiot, Marcus joins Embry in the cricle, waiting for the humans to make room around it in case one of them tumbles out.

The two of them are quick to bolt at one another, crashing with a sickening smack. Teeth snap crazily as they both try to get a hold on the other's neck and shoulder. All the while Marcus uses his brute strength and height to push Embry backwards, getting him a little closer to the edge.

Sadly, Embry fights smarter and simply stops and drops to the floor. Marcus being the big dummy that he is, just literally rolls over him, right out of the circle. We all laugh, Marcus included, as the two bump shoulders, ensuring that everyone knows there was no harm done.

Next in are Rosalie and Alice.

The two of them move so quickly and gracefully it's like watching a ballet in fast forward on a VCR player.

Alice throws a couple of good hits, but Barbie swipes her legs and literally chucks her out of the circle.

I notice that Jess, Eric, Angela and Mike are all gasping in horror as Alice smacks against the floor.

Quickly, I walk over to them, giving them a wolfish grin when they look at me uncertainly. They soon relax as I send Connor -the other new guy- in against Jared. We all know he'll lose, but you never really win until you've lost, because you've got no experience in having to get back up and suck it all up.

Their fight's over relatively quickly as Jared launches himself so quickly and forcefully at Connor that he braces, but the impact never comes until Jared clamps his jaw on Connor's flank, swining him out of the circle.

I can't help but laugh at Connor's expression as he rolls to his feet and looks from the edge of the circle to Jared, then back again to the circle.

Carlisle and Emmett fight it out for almost five minutes before Emmett seems to get bored and kicks Carlisle in the chest, sending him flying.

After long, the La Push pack runs out of wolves, so I set Skylar and Kyla on one another.

Oh, and let me just say that I'm so fucking proud of River. She threw Paul around like a piece of cloth. She's officaially my favourite for that.

Sky launches herself at her sister, who just stands still. Sky stops dead, looking confused at Kyla as if to ask what she's doing. _**"Uh, Sky?"**_ Kyla mumbles, her voice small.

Sky's sisterly side kicks in, her shoulders slump, and she becomes the perfect target for Kyla as she wrestles her big sister close to the edge of the ring. Skylar clocks onto her quickly, sinking her teeth into Kyla's shoulder and using her sister's pain to force her away from the edge.

While they're tusseling, Jake walks over to me and sits by my side. We sit shoulder to shoulder, and watch them fight. Jake hasn't fought, but neither has Matt or Sam, so we've decided that the two alphas would pick another pack mate to fight with them, like a double Pokemon battle, only nowhere near as cool. Let's face it, nothing is as cool as Pokemon. It's just a fact of life. Pokemon Fire Red on a Gameboy Colour, that's the life.

Jake snickers at my thoughts of Pokemon. _**"What? It's awesome!"**_ I argue. He merely nods, not coming back with anything. _**"This whole being imprinted thing isn't gonna work if you don't like Pokemon."**_ I say, making him and a few of the pack chuckle. _**"Seriously, I'm not joking, and if you didn't choose Charmander then this just won't work."**_ Jake full out guffaws, scaring a few of the humans.

"Bella's using Pokemon to decide on their relationship status." Edward says, amusement evident in his voice.

Jens nods. "Yeah, she was pissed when I didn't use the little orange dino thing." She says.

_**"Dino thing!" **_I exclaim, outraged. _**"Sparkles, tell her she's officially disowned." **_I say, looking sternly at Jenna as Edward tells her that I've disowned her for calling Charmander the dino thing.

Skylar and Kyla both tumble out of the circle at the same time, leaving them on a draw.

Since each of the Cullens aside from Edward and Esme has fought, they have a quick go, but Edward predicts her every move, deflecting them with ease as he slowly gets her closer to the edge before slimply stepping into her personal space, making her step back without a thought. She face palms herself with a smile.

"Alright." Billy says. "Now for the two alphas and their partners." His grin comes through in his voice as Jake and I stand from beside one another and walk to opposite ends of the circle, soon joined by Matt and Sam. To make it a little more interresting, I'm with Sam, and Matt's with Jake.

I surprise everyone when we start by rocketing at Jake. It's not that I want to hurt him, but it's because I don't want Sam to.

It's almost impossible to watch through Sam's eyes as he and Matt are both pitch black wolves, the same hight, the same eye colour and muscle mass. It's like watching an out of time mirror.

Jake gets over his surprise quickly, pushing against me with his chest, but not using his teeth.

Grinning, I crouch, pushing harder against his chest before throwing myself into the air.

He hurtles to the floor, getting a maw full of mud as he stumbles.

Matt drags Sam out of the circle before Sam snaps at his tail and pulls him out too, leaving just me and Jake. I know he's done it so Jake can learn how to fight without worrying about any other wolves.

Jake makes a few lunges, all of which I bat away with the bottom of my paw. I skip expertly out of the way every time he snaps at me. After a matter of minutes Skylar starts snickering as I dodge Jake effortlessly then crash my weight against him so hard that he falls. _**"You need to be faster back on you feet." **_She tells him as he forces himself back up.

A couple of the others from the pack start to chuckle, recognising what I'm doing.

Jake's feet freeze as he stands in the dead centre of the circle, me keeping light on my feet, wandering in circles around him. _**"Don't stop moving."**_ River tells Jake, giving him the mental image of me tackling him out of the circle, effectively showing him what I'll do. _**"Come on!" **_She barks, showing him in her head how he should move to beat me.

_**"Don't let her get inside your head!"**_ Marcus's voice booms as he recalls me ordering him to lie down, telling him that he won't win until he can break an order. It was a risky move, but each of my pack can break an order now if it's essential enough.

I cock my head at Jake, giving him a sly grin.

Each member of my pack aside from the new kids flash memories of how I trained each of them. I never bared my fangs to a single one of them until I knew they were giving me their all. It hits Jake quickly that neither of us will win until he starts trying.

"Bella won't fight properly until Jacob does." Edward says, explaining to the humans and vamps why we're standing still. "Neither one can win while Jacob doesn't try. His choices are to fight or to give up." He adds, smirking as he sees the change in Jake's face. The change that says he'll fight.

He takes the opposite side from me, both of us circling.

Jake bares his fangs, giving everyone his decision.

I do the same in return. A few of the humans gasp as a snarl ripples through me and my body gets a little closer to the ground while we move.

I'm not sure if it's out of respect, or something different, but every pack member phases back in the middle of the yard, yanking their clothes on before standing in a large ring around the circle of tape as Jake and I circle. Good. No one but Tinkerbell in our heads now.

_**"Well?"**_ I taunt, raising my eyebrow mockingly.

Jake snarls before haunching up and getting ready to bolt.

I wait for him to shoot at me before I throw myself at him.

His claws slash against my ribs, and I think I see something like horror cross his face as I wince, jumping out of my reach. _**"Bells..."**_ His voice rings clearly.

_**"Come on, Jake, fight."**_ I say simply. _**"Move faster, move with the wolf. Stop slapping like a human. You're a wolf, prove it."**_

I lurch at him, my claws catching his maw as he pushes against me. I sink my canines deep into his shoulder, letting him know not to hold back. _**"We were given damn sharp teeth for a reason."**_ I say, holding tighter to prove my point. I plant one front paw on his maw while he snaps his teeth wildly, the other goes on his side, just below where my teeth are.

He spins manically, trying desperately to shake me off and clamp his teeth on me. I merely move in time with him, not letting up at all.

We scuffle so close to the edge of the ring that Skylar and Marcus push Jake's hide back in, not letting him go that easily. _**"Bella!" **_ He snarls, snapping with his teeth, to no avail.

Our fight lasts for another fifteen mintues before Jacob finally manages to sink his fangs into my flank when I'm spinning round. He uses his hold to try and drag me to the edge of the circle. I use the momentum to my advantage and throw my body weight against him. We tubmle together out of the ring. I laugh it off when Jake lands practically across my back. He scurries quickly off me, blushing and apologising.

I nudge his shoulder with my own as I stand, grinning.

There seems to be a communal sigh among everyone around us, then an almost awkward silence sets in. "I though you'd have torn his throat out!" Skylar exclaims, pretending to wipe a bead of sweat from her brow. We all laugh.

Jake and I wander into the woods with our clothes.

Neither of us turn away as we phase right next to one another, yet neither of us blush or look at the other. "So," Jake says, his voice sounding somewhat awkward as he pulls his shorts up.

"So?" I reply, pulling my shirt over his head and raising a quizzical eyebrow.

His grin lights his face up, and all of the awkwardness is gone from his voice, replaced by an almost teasing tone. "So I hear you're training me?" He asks, his hundred watt grin getting even brighter.

I nod, smirking when he pulls his shirt over his head, exposing his muscles to me as he stretches up. "I do believe that was my promise to you yesterday." I reply with a small smile that grows in size as I step forwards and place my hands on his abs before he can pull his shirt all the way down.

A chuckle escapes his throat as my hands flatten against his skin and I sigh, closing my eyes.

I feel the very tips of his fingers brush against either side of my neck until both of his hands find themselves at the base of my skull, cradling my head and neck while Jake's enormous form towers so close to my own that I can feel the heat coming off of him in waves. He walks forwards and into me with purpose, making my small body move for his large on until I'm backed up against a tree.

"Open your eyes for me." He whispers, his voice so smooth, yet so commanding that I feel the need to obey his wishes.

My eyes flicker open like a light. He's no longer sporting a grin, but the look of deep concerntration on his face is so adorable that I can't help but love it. "Jacob..." I breath out, running my hands up his torso as his shirt falls to cover them and him.

"Bella..." He snarls, his face hardening into a look of desire.

That look. Jesus. I'm a gonner. If I wasn't before then I sure as hell am now.

**Well, I'm not sure if it was a little cruel of me to end the chapter here, but if you think it was then I'm sorry! Forgive me?**

**Assuming that I'm forgiven, how about we get onto the next chapter? Yeah? Awesome! Oh, and if anyone has any questions of absolutely any sort, feel free to PM me or leave it as a review.**

**One final thing, up to this point, all of my chapters so far were written before I even posted the first one, so if you've asked any questions on previous chapters that haven't been answered then it's purely because they were already written, so if you want to repost them to me or something then feel free and I'll get back to anyone as soon as I can.**


	11. Chapter 11

**~*Chapter 11*~**

**Bella*~**

Okay, so we're _still_ at the Cullens house and it's two in the afternoon.

Esme is having an absolute ball as she's spent almost the entire day in the kitchen. She smiply adores my pack and Sam's as they just keep eating. Paul even complemented her on her cooking, and I know just by looking at him that he's had it in for them, but no one can hate her. It's seriously impossible.

Carlisle insists that we all stay for dinner as Esme's already back in the kitchen talking with my mom and Phil about what she uses in a sauce of some sort.

Skylar and Kyla put the TV on about an hour ago when Alice suggested jokingly that we could watch Teen Wolf, you know, the TV show with Tyler Posey and the mega hot Tyler Hoechlin? Yeah, that one. I saw a hint of what looked like jelousy flood Jake's usually handsome and calm features when they turned it on and asked me who the hottest character was and I replied that it was Daniel Sharman.

"Daniel Sharman?" Jenna exclaims, pulling her face.

I shrug against Jake where I sit tucked under his arm. "What? He's cute." I supply, feeling Jake stiffen beside me, his grip getting a little tighter and more protective. I can't help but feel all warm and tingly.

Jenna shakes her head, pretending to be sick. "Oh, so who'd you go for?" I ask, kicking her over Edward's lap. Yeah, that's right, I'm sitting between Jacob and Tinkerbell watching Teen Wolf in a room full of vampires, werewolves and humans. Just an everyday thing.

She shakes her head. "I wouldn't." She says, smiling almost invisibly in Edward's direction. "Celebrities are-"

"Nope, you've got to answer!" Jess tells her, shaking her head with a grin and pointing at her.

After much mumbling and grumbling, she finally mutters out "Colton Haynes." blushing madly as she does.

"What?" I tease. "Wow, and you said Daniel Sharman was bad."

"It's the accent that does it for me." Skylar cuts in, and literally the next second, Daniel Sharman comes onto the screen along with Colton Haynes.

I raise an eyebrow. "What, the American accent?" I question, confused.

"He's British." Alice tells me, smiling.

We all talk about Teen Wolf for almost an hour, getting through one and a half episodes before Eric, Angela, Jess and Mike all have to go home. In fact, we all start to leave until it's just the Cullens and the packs -along with Kelsey and Jenna.

Dad only left when I assured him that I'd be home for dinner. Kelsey's invited too, along with Jake and a couple of others, but Jake's the only one that agrees as Kelsey says she left her car in the woods and has to get back for the cats -Marcus stiffens a little at the mention of cats- and Jimmy the dog. "Marcus," I say, giving him a look. "You wanna go walk Kelsey to her car?" I say, my tone sounding suggestive, but my look telling him to move his ass as she turns and starts walking after we've hugged, agreeing that I'll be back for the start of the next term. _**(A/N: I'm British and kind of clueless, so is it called a semester in America?)**_ He nods, understanding that he's got to explain everything to her fully before he turns and jogs after her with a sweet grin.

"Has he-" Skylar starts, but then stops to let out a harsh sounding laugh.

"Imprinted..." River finishes for her, a little in awe.

Skylar's laughs suddenly stop. "Wait, but he's Doctor Gaylord," She says, a tinge of sadness lacing her voice as she speaks. "Now he's Doctor Straightlord, and that sounds funny." She complains, pouting playfully as Marcus and Kelsey dissappear into the woodland.

After a few minutes of general chatting, we -the packs- all decide to go and head into town. Jenna goes off with Edward for a hike or something boring like that as we all head through the woods in the general direction of the town. Jake takes my hand and we walk a little way behind the others, our clapsed hands swinging wildly, making us both laugh.

Two of the guys from Sam's pack phase and sprint off once Sam tells them to get on patrole.

"So," Sky says, looking to where the rest of the two packs walks. "What's gonna happen now?" She asks, her voice tired. I suddenly realise how large a toll yesterday had on everyone, not only me.

Sam sighs, a sigh so deep that I know he's scared. "Bella will be guarded at all times." He says, his voice thick with uncertainty. Everyone looks to where I stand with Jake, but no one stops walking as they look. "I'll have a couple of the guys, maybe all of them, switch schools. We need to protect the four humans too, maybe the girl that your friend imprinted on."

"And what if all this turns to shit and someone gets hurt?" I ask. "Or killed."

Everyone gasps and stares at me, the new kids looking worried. "No one will die for me." I say, my voice harsh but neccessary.

"It's not like you can just turn yourself over to them." Paul snaps. "You're an alpha, an annoying one, but one that we'll protect with our lives." He looks me dead in the eyes as he speaks, and I know that they're willing to die for me. I can't let that happen. But what would happen to them if I just left again? Would Adrian leave them if that was my condition for joining him? "Now let's fucking move, I'm hungry." He says, turning and stomping off.

Everyone follows with an uneasy chuckle.

We make it to the diner in record time, everyone grinning by the time we get there. Marcus caught up with us a few minutes ago or so, saying how he's already managed to embarrass himself in front of Kelsey. Apparently he went to hug her and slipped in the mud. I don't question the fact that there's no mud on his shorts, I think it might make it worse if he realises that he'd only just phased back so was probably buck ass naked when he fell too.

Cora comes over to us all with a notepad, doing a double take on me with my many cuts and bruises. "Your father seen you?" She asks as she reaches out and runs a thumb over my black right eye. I nod, telling her that it's nothing. "Was it that girl, that one who gave your sister a busted up nose?"

"No, it was just an accident, nothing too much." I reply, trying desperately to set her mind at ease.

She nods, "Uh huh." She replies sceptically. "You look like you had a run in with a truck." She tells me. Wow, way to make a girl feel beautiful.

"Thanks, Cora, I feel mighty sexy now." I tell her, winking playfully. She snorts before taking our orders with a smirk.

**Hey, guys. I know this chapter is super short, but I wrote it so long ago and every time I reread it to add to it I just get super lost in my own thoughts, so I'm ending this one here and just going into a fresh chapter so I don't do anything stupid.**

**Please review.**

**It may take longer than usual (updates are gonna be super slow so sorry) for me to update because I started college last week and I barely have any free time anymore, so I am sorry. Up until this point everything was already written and just waiting for me to post, but I haven't even started chapter Twelve, so again, sorry.**


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